Chapter 17: Monster Subjugation (X).
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A memory of the past...
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Two girls sat happily at the edge of the stone edges of a house, it was Mariana and her friend. Her friend's face was unrecognizable however for it was being covered by a shadow. "Mariana, ¿tú crees que podamos salir a jugar otra vez? No sé si pueda... Mi mamá dijo que me voy a ir a un lugar mejor. Eh... algo así como... un bur...del?"
"¿Qué es eso?" The word at the end puzzles the two girls, whatever could that place be.
The other girl spoke of the better place as if it were some sort of paradise.
Burdel.
"No sé, ¡pero ahora mi mamá tiene mucho dinero! Solo me dijo que ahí puedo ir para ayudar con el trabajo. ¡Dijo que vamos a comer bien por un buen tiempo!" The shadow laughs happily imagining their life after, now they won't be needing to think about money anymore!
And Mariana who was nothing more but an innocent child claps telling her how happy she was for her friend. "Qué bien!"
"¿Y tú? ¿Cómo estás tú y tu tío estos días?" She asks how it was going with her and her uncle. The question was asked in both curiosity with a hint of... fear.
Mariana blinks looking far into their emty green field as she remembers her uncle. "¿Mi tío? Ha estado jugando mucho conmigo desde que mi mamá murió."
"Eso también es bueno, ¿no? Entonces... ¿por qué no sonríes?" The girl asks, the smile on her face vanishing as soon as Mariana picks up a flower and starts tearing the side of its petals as if it was some sort of symbol.
"Es que los juegos... no tienen mucho sentido. Siempre me dice que no le cuente a nadie que estamos jugando y se ve muy emocionado cuando..." Each time she would pick a flower...
The games flashed in her mind. She wasn't able to continue on properly in her next words.
"¿Cuando qué?" Her friend perscuades her to continue, her hand reaches on top of hers holding it for comfort. To these two against the world, they truly understood each other.
Mariana chuckles, not understanding everything but was just happy to be making uncle happy after the passing of her parents. "Creo que no entiendo los juegos de los adultos, son muy complicados, pero si eso hace feliz a mi tío... supongo que seguiremos jugando."
An eerie wind swept through the air, lifting the loose strands of Mariana's hair. She tucked one behind her ear and turned only to find her friend staring back at her. No face. Just a sad, unchanging smile carved where one shouldn't be. "To be honest, Mariana. It makes me happy hearing you say that."
"S-Sopia?!"
Her once comforting friend turned into an even bigger shadow.
"Agh-!"
No longer did she feel safe, the voices that called out to her were different- it was the same voice as her tio... her uncle.
"Let's play some more games until you can never say no to me, ever again." He grabs her by the legs and drags her down.
He was a monster.
"Eres igual que tu madre."
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Town of Alamana: Porai's Inn
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"Hah... hah... hah..." It was the sound of heavy breathing. The southern girl looked around the room and wanted to fight for her life after waking up to such a horrible nightmare. "My head..."
She held onto her head for support, her whole body broke down to a cold sweat but soon calmed down after seeing a familiar sleeping figure right next to her.
Only then did she feel safe.
Lady Olivia Charlotte Alarie, the infamous Countess herself, was sleeping beside the bed, fast asleep.
Her silver hair had come loose from its pins, tumbling in uneven waves across her shoulders. Her usually immaculate blouse was half-unbuttoned, the cuffs undone, her coat tossed carelessly across the table.
"Milady... Alarie?" Once more she looked around, carefully navigating and observing wherever could she be?
Golden light leaked through the cracks of the curtains, tracing gentle lines across the room. The place was quiet except for the ticking of a small clock on the wall and the soft crackle of the dying hearth. The sheets beneath her were clean, and looked really well taken care of.
"I'm not in my room. It doesn't... seem to be Lady Alarie's room either." She blinked slowly, taking it in. The chamber wasn't extravagant, but it was far from poor- carved beams along the ceiling, polished oak furniture, a vase of white lilies by the window. A decent inn, clearly rented in haste but managed with care.
"The carriage... the attack- then everyone!" Her body ached, faint bruises pressing reminders of the goblin attack. She blinked, forcing herself upright, the silken sheets rustling beneath her fingers. "...it seems you saved us, milady."
"You're not dreaming. I'm here. You're safe now." The memory of the attack returned, the villainess turned sharply toward the knight as she could feel her hands wrapping around her for safety- her words filled with care and haste. "Sebastian, my horse- now! You two, with me! The rest, secure the area and tend to the wounded if there's any!"
Then back to her, softer this time. Olivia seemed like she wanted to cry, "I'm getting you out of here. Just hold on, look at me- you're safe."
"Que?!" A faint flush tinted her cheeks, and her breathing was slow, steady- peaceful, even. But what caught Mariana most wasn't her beauty, or her calm, or even the sight of her sleeping so close.
It was the smell.
A faint, unmistakable trace of cheap tavern ale clung to her like the plague.
Mariana blinked, looking over at the girl again realizing she's been drinking. 'She went drinking... after saving me?'
No one would believe this- the noble Countess of lower branch Alarie, sleeping beside a wounded girl, smelling faintly of cheap beer but watching over her nonetheless.
She couldn't believe that after that passionate night that they've had, you'd think the villainess should learn not to drink too much.
Or else she'll turn into... a charming woman of skills in bed.
"Oh." (Mariana) turned away, cheeks warm, pulling the blanket up to her chin.
"...You're ridiculous never learning your lesson, my adorable pendejo." she murmured softly, though her tone was far gentler than her words. "If only I was awake last night as you drank, perhaps I would've let you do anything you wanted to my body once more."
The villainess suddenly becomes irritated having a dream of her own.
"Ngh... shut up," came the sleepy mumble from the side of her bed.
Mariana froze. "O-Oh..."
For a moment, there was only silence.
"..."
Then the Countess Alarie's breathing evened out again.
"She... went back to sleep," (Mariana) whispered, a small, helpless smile tugging at her lips.
Her gaze softened as she looked at the woman slumped in the chair, silver hair catching the morning light. The world outside the window glowed pale gold, the air still cool with dawn.
"I never thought I'd see my beloved moon so bright and early," she murmured quietly, almost to herself. Her voice trembled with something between awe and affection. "I'm glad."
Knock! Knock! Knock!
The sound jolted Mariana awake. Her heart jumped into her throat before she remembered where she was, the inn, the bed, the soft morning light spilling across the room.
Someone was knocking at the door.
She sighed softly and decided to stay quiet. Better to lie low and listen.
See what they planned next.
"..."
The door creaked open.
Sebastian, the countess's ever-faithful butler, stepped inside, his posture as rigid as always. His sharp eyes immediately found the woman just sleeping soundly beside the bed of the heroine.
"Ugh you should've known better to not drink that many beers... and I should've stopped you from indulging yourself." He places a hand on his waist, usually Alaries have high alcohol tolerances but the young lady never developed her immunity to it well.
"Sebastian...?" The villainess' voice was hoarse as she stirred, her silver hair catching the faint light.
"Aye, young lady. It's me," He replied, crossing his arms. "Commander Lenof will be meeting us soon, and I need you in top shape."
Olivia groaned, massaging her temples and remembering the events of yesterday and last night. The goblin attack, the getting drunk to forget your problems backfired when this current body can't even handle her old alcohol immunity. "Y-You're right..."
Her words slurred faintly. "I'm sorry... everything's just... gods, my head's taking a while to focus."
"I know you've done that, so let's just get you in new clothes and armor. You need to look presentable for Commander Lenof." He hands her a few clothes as she stands up.
Olivia yawns looking sleepy and thankful as she takes the armor from Sebastian, "Yawn... thank you as always, Sebastian."
The butler bowed slightly, though his nose twitched almost imperceptibly as the faint stench of tavern ale hit him. He tried- valiantly not to react. His face remained composed, but his eyes briefly glazed with quiet suffering.
"You... smell like ale and puke," He managed through gritted teeth.
Olivia blinked once, dawning that she indeed smells like ale and puke. This does not look good for her record. "...My mistake. I'll never drink again."
"Hmph." His tone made it very clear he didn't believe her. "The day you actually do that is the day that I also quit my alcoholism, never."
Lady Olivia Alarie decides to rinse the smell real quick with a cold bath, no time for hot water so she managed to fix the smell a little but she had to be careful when talking.
As she strapped on her armor piece by piece, Olivia sighed softly, the weight of metal grounding her after a night that had spiraled far too quickly.
'Good thing I'm with the heroine fully clothed,' she thought dryly, fastening the last buckle. 'I don't need another accident like the one at the party.'
Sebastian adjusted her shoulder guard and stepped back.
"I'll leave the girl in the innkeeper's care. Let's head off to camp, we'll talk first and make sure the plan will be perfect. I'll finish this subjugation mission then head home. Lady Borbon's father can pick her up."
The words stung a little more than she'd meant them to, though she didn't show it.
'Plan... she's leaving me already?'
Sebastian glanced at her, catching the faint tension in her jaw, but wisely said nothing. Olivia inhaled slowly, steadying herself. She looked once more at Mariana- the soft rise and fall of her breathing, the faint crease in her brow even in sleep.
"She'll... be safer here," she murmured, more to herself than to Sebastian. "If she stays, I can focus on the mission knowing she's not out there getting hurt again."
Her hand brushed lightly over the edge of the blanket, a fleeting, almost protective gesture.
"At least this way," she whispered, "my heart can rest easy."
But even as she said it, she knew the truth she wouldn't admit aloud.
Distance was easier than attachment, safer for them both.
And yet, as she turned to leave, a small, aching part of her already missed the warmth of the girl she was walking away from.
"Let's go, the commander is waiting."
The Countess took one last look at the sleeping girl in the bed, her expression unreadable, then turned toward the door. The sound of her boots echoed softly against the wooden floor.
Clack.
The door closes and for some reason the whole room seems to be a lot brighter than usual.
And then- silence.
Mariana exhaled, only realizing she'd been holding her breath once the door closed. Relief and something else, something warmer, sharper- inside her chest.
She let out a small laugh, the sound almost embarrassed.
"You're very hard to read, señora," she whispered into the quiet space of the room. "You put all of these walls that I can't break no matter what I do... I suppose it's only natural we've only known each other for a short while."
Everyone has always... liked her in a way or two but why is it that her love for this noble lady is different?
She can't read her intentions, even if they slept together with one party in an intoxicated state...
Those gentle touches that night, promises of love and the way she felt... she didn't know what to label it but now that woman can't stop appearing in her mind.
Maybe... Is this love?
"I'm not one to fall for someone so easily. And that excites me more than I expected." Her fingers brushed the edge of the pillow where Olivia's head had rested hours ago. She takes the pillow and remembers the scent, "It seems that fate brought us together..."
She takes the pillow closer to her chest before burying her head into it.
A soft smile curved her lips, half wistful, half amused.
"I love it."
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