Speech = ``...´´
Thoughts = [... ]
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º-….Theariantrope lands….-º
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Tired...
She felt tired.
Cold sweat sliding down her forehead, hair becoming disheveled and stuck to the glistening skin.
It had started slow at first, but now she felt as if the muscles of her body had been tensed for hours on end.
Pulsing..
Poking..
Biting..
Like holding a burning coal with her hands and pressing it tightly against herself without a care in the world. Only that this time, the burning coal seemed to had a mind of its own.
She tried to close her eyes, to sigh and just lean down to get some sleep even now that the sun was already out, and yet even that she found difficulty in doing so with everything that was going on.
Once again, Lili tried to sigh if only out of habit if nothing else...only to flinch again when the pain came back. It was hard to get used to it, especially with the way she felt her chest heave up and down slowly with difficult as if her lungs were blocked from filling themselves with air.
It was not something she liked, let alone wanted to go through. However this time it was not the worst she had gone through. The thought alone made her shiver.
There had times that she could barely breath at all and felt her throat clogging down as it started to strangle her to death.
Luckily, those times were rare as of yet.
She only wished they would never come to become more frequent. No matter how unlikely her desires were to be heard by the gods themselves that had sent this...this "thing" to her.
Still, she did not like the uncertainty of it, the fear that was now living with her, but above all, Lili felt pain. Pain…, like an electric current that was circulating free inside her veins, burning and biting at everything it could come across. A small, rusty knife logged inside her or just a feverish spread of madness that continued to chew at her and her soul.
Understanding that nothing was going to get done by laying down like this she slowly stood up from her bed. Clenching her jaw and clutching the sheets as she tried to ignore any ounce of pain going her way.
Her body wanted her to lay down, but if she did that again for five more minutes she would lose her god damn mind.
She needed to walk.
She needed take some air, her legs at first wobbling and stumbling before she regained a semblance of self and neared the closest window.
Perhaps, that way things would get better….though at this point, she was sure she was just lying at herself. A sentiment that seemed to cement itself even harder when her lilac eyes could not help themselves to look down at her waist and at the black spot that was blemishing her pale body.
A spot that was revealed now as the light of morning pierced through the binds of the windows.
A spot that was growing bigger.
``Oh god, what I am going to do about this?´´
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º-...Midgard kingdom: outskirts...-º
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``I cant believe it...´´
Muttered slowly the voice of a young girl who even until these late hours of morning had not until now started to rise up from leaning down in her makeshift bed. Red eyes that matched her bright crimson shade of her hair closed to a half lid, her youthful face wriggled with frowns that did not seem to fully settle as she had trouble coming to terms with something in particular.
A hand brushing against her head and picking up strand after strand of chaff that had gotten stuck on her hair or clothes, having more often than not to use her hand and energetically slap them away from clinging again onto her.
``I just cant..´´
Iris mumbled again, this time more to herself than anything as she finally stood up, stumbling a little bit with the way her boots had trouble to get a hold of the ground underneath with all these chaffs covering everything her eyes could see within the four walls of wood that had covered them barely from either wind or rain.
The stench of shit and lack of a good cleaning double now than what it had previously been the day before now that the air was charged with so much moisture.
``No matter how many times I wrap my head around it, I cant still believe I slept in a barn…´´
Barns were for horses, not people. So why on earth had she decided, let alone agree to Beatrixs idea to rest inside of one..!? No matter how many times she wracked her head on the matter, she could not come up with a good enough explanation for such oversight.
She was a princess and successor apparent to her father for goddess sake, not a mule boy..!
N-not like she had anything against the people who worked on barns, goddess forbid that, its just….what would people say if they recognize her? Inexperienced as she was with the ways of the court she at least had an inkling that it would not be good for her.
Not that been covered in chaff, her clothes rugged by endless marching and covered either with mud or without the chance to either chance of clothes or take a good and relaxing bath were any better mind you.
A dark cloud of depression started to pop above her head at the memory of those aspects she was now painfully lacking. Oh, what she would give to just drop dead over her cushy and soft bed.
And with Mr Paws too.
Urgh, why could she not have made better preparations for something like this? Next time she made a half hatched plan such as this one...please, someone hit her on the face.
``Hmm..? Whats the problem...? It looks like a good place as any..´´
The sound of the elven warrior reminded her that she was not exactly alone in the barn. Tilting her head to the side, Iris found the blond woman sharpening her blade with a whetstone. Which was not strange at all given who she was, though the fact that her senses had not caught on to the notice should have been.
Though it was not like her head was on the game right now.
``Its unsanitary…., there could be bugs o-or other things in here...´´
The thought of things worse than little insects crawling underneath her clothes was dreadful, what if there were rats here?
It would have been funny to consider how weird she was been with her irrational fear of mice given how she had given no shits about when she had to fight walking and monstrous pieces of carrion that not even a mother could love back in that dreadful day.
``There doesn't appear to be anything of the sort..´´ Was Beatrix laconic response.
``That's... not the point I was trying to make..´´
``Then...what was it?´´
``I….´´
``Yes..?´´
Iris shook her head, taking a deep breath ``I...I am just saying that perhaps we should not have spent the night here instead of a far more proper place´´
``A proper place..?´´ There was confusion on the war goddess eyes, even tilting her head to the side a little.
``A hotel? A tavern perhaps..?´´
A glimmer of amusement shone in those violet eyes of the woman. Her thin lips slowly turning into a shy, yet tender smile while she crossed her arms, allowing her unsheathed blade to remain over her lap.
``This is really your first time on the countryside...isn't it, princess?´´
``Y-yes…´´
``Hmm…, you would have me deceived with the way you handled yourself last night...´´
Iris felt her ears heat up at the reminder.
``I-I was tired...!´´
``See? Your body does not care where it goes to rest, just that it does. Any place is as good as any….Iris´´
Iris knew that she was not wrong, not really. However, she was sure that Beatrix was once again over generalizing everything. Like, who would ever want to rest on a cemetery? Or underground?
Anyone could choose anywhere to rest if they so wanted...that did not made the choice smart or good.
``I... seriously doubt that´´
``Perhaps, however the point stands. Not everyone can have a bed waiting for them.., princess..´´
``Sorry…´´
The elf shook her head. ``Don't worry, you are still young…´´
``I am an adult!´´
``Not to me..,.´´
``Beatrix, we spoke about this…´´
``We have..?´´
``Yes..´´
``….´´
``….´´
``What did we talk about...?´´
``Urgh.., not this again..´´
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º-...Somewhere in Velgata...-º
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Of all the people in the palace grounds, why her?
``For a knight you seem to skulk to much in the shadows..´´
``For one of the seven blades you distrust your fellow co-workers a little bit too much..´´
``What do you want, Sergei..´´
``To see what the people had so much to say about you, Karen´´
She frowned, the heir of Von Herzog fully turning around instead of just tilting her head to properly meet the taller man with not even fake politeness to shed for him. Completely undeterred by the fact that they were alone in this corridor and he was the only one wearing heavy plate.
Their eyes lock with one another as they glared at each other. The air filled with the static touch of distrust and amused annoyance of one another.
Hands flexing and clenching.
Heartbeats slowing down.
``You should have brought your sword then..´´
``I don't think I will be needing it...´´
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A/N
Is it just me or Zetas true name sometimes is translated to Lilim instead of Lili? I know that is something so small and trivial that it would not matter much to those who know the lore, but it felt as if she was been called by the name of her ancestor rather than her own.
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Here you have a brief chapter that its more filler than anything else, sorry, but the Alpha/Koldarrd chapter is not ready yet.