ㅤㅤQuilliene led herself and the two other boys outside into the open. She made her way with Neo and Daileth in tow to the hedge maze. Weaving her way through the rose decorated passages easily, she finally reached a tunnel with ivory white canopies of bars and spiralling vines across them.
ㅤㅤQuilliene stopped at a wooden door. Colours of green, brown, and white clashed as moss and various other plants seemed to be making home across the entryway. Her eyes drifted to the knob, fingers hesitantly brushing against it before she gripped it and opened the door. With a glance at Neo, who smiled reassuringly, she entered.
ㅤㅤInside was a greenhouse, rows of flowers, vegetables, and fruits in pots and trays that sat across tables and the floor. Sunlight occasionally peaked through the glass roof, and in the far corner was another doorway that seemed to harbour the noise of rushing water. She made her way to that door, entering with a small knock.
ㅤㅤShe slipped in to a much smaller but wider chamber of the greenhouse. An extension of the previous hall of rows with a marble statue in the centre of the room. It was a man in a delicate uniform with water spouting at either side of his shoulders into a little pool below his feet, contained by an iron gate. The words, In Memory of, were plastered on the marble base, but the name seemed to be blotched out by algae and moss.
ㅤㅤNonetheless, Quilliene knew very well who it was.
ㅤㅤShe stepped forward, letting the door fall closed behind her. Running her fingers over the dirty plague, she took in the words. Surveying the room before her, she saw large bushes on every table, potted plants and half empty shelves along the top in a neat and organised clutter. There were bags of soil beside each table, and she saw not a single person in the room before her. However, she knew she was there.
ㅤㅤ"I see you tidied up everything but father's plaque," She spoke to the emptiness. "You removed the leaves, but the name... a little petty, don't you think?"
ㅤㅤ"It depends, I suppose, on how you look at it."
ㅤㅤThe soft but authoritative voice from behind her in the left corner drew Quilliene's attention to that direction. A tall tan woman stood there with long, pure red hair which was coiled and curled in a high ponytail. Curtain bangs hung over her green eyes, and she was staring at a bush before her. She was pruning the red roses, gazing down at them as if deep in thought.
ㅤㅤ"Maybe the algae is meant to be there," She continued, without looking at the queen. "Since it grew so fast in the last few months."
ㅤㅤQuilliene turned to face her completely. "That just sounds like an excuse." She made her way around, plucking a lavender flower from a small pot and giving it a sniff. "I'm starting to think you've been assisting in its over-growth, though I suppose someone should since..." She paused at the thought of her mother, sighing. "But it's good to see you in such pristine condition."
ㅤㅤ"Is there a reason I shouldn't be?" Fyra mused.
ㅤㅤShe looked over the plant in what almost seemed to be disappointment. As if she wanted to rip it from its roots in frustration and tear it apart - but she didn't. Giving it one last passing through of pruning, she set down the shears and looked up to her queen. Though, she did not do so in the way the demons did. She stared at her as if she was the authority figure in the room.
ㅤㅤ"What brings you and that... boy outside to my garden?"
ㅤㅤQuilliene immediately looked away as Fyra made eye contract, furrowing her brows. "Don't say it like that..." She sighed, her mind wandering from her prime reason for coming to Fyra. "He isn't so bad. I came because we need assistance, but... there's something else I want to talk about first." She took a deep breath. "That thing attached to him... it's killing him. And it spoke to me - personally."
ㅤㅤQuilliene found herself automatically hushing her voice, as if frightened Neo might be listening - even though he obviously wasn't. Fyra stared at her queen for a long time, blank faced as if she wasn't quite sure what to think of what she had just heard. Then she
blinked, and it only then became clear that she hadn't blinked for the whole time she was standing there.
ㅤㅤ"Quilliene, are you positive?" Her emotionless voice gave way to concern. "We know what is attached to him is faintly present at all times, but if it had visited you, every single one of us would be on top of it in a split second, I guarantee. Was it not one of your night terrors?"
ㅤㅤ"I'm sure of it," She said, but only partial confidence was in her tone. Quilliene walked over to one of the tables, still unable to maintain eye contact as she placed the flower down. "Just last night. It confronted me, and claimed ownership over him." The more she spoke, the more her voice wavered, and the more the flower withered away. "I had hoped the encounter would lead me to answers, but it left me with nothing but threats and challenges I could not meet."
ㅤㅤFyra seemed to watch her closely, her green eyes burning into Quilliene's back. "But that wasn't all," She said slowly. "Was it?"
ㅤㅤThe queen sighed, closing her eyes momentarily before looking at her. "No." She turned to face the devil wearing human skin. "I learned something else. Something I think that you knew, actually, for quite some time." She took a deep breath, forcing herself to look convinced in posture. "It told me- well, showed me... the experiments."
ㅤㅤFor a moment, she could have sworn she saw something flicker behind Fyra's calm gaze - fear, maybe - but she continued. "The things my parents did both during and after neighbouring wars. Those people... and I think you knew. You knew, up to the point when just a few days ago I was kidnapped by one of those sick fucks and..." She took a shaking breath, only noticing then the withered leaves of the bush next to her.
ㅤㅤFyra remained silent for a moment, eyes flicking around before resting on her queen once more. "Yes, of course I knew. I was one of the few who did aside from the Nameless, because..."
ㅤㅤShe grew a pained look across her face, closing her eyes with a slow blink before opening them again. Fyra stepped forward, stopping in front of Quilliene, looking down at her own arms as she pulled back the sleeve of the left one. A strange, tanned, rubbery part of her skin was tainted with what looked to be almost crystallised in a way.
ㅤㅤ"Because your parents made me part of them," Fyra finished.
ㅤㅤQuilliene could feel the utter shock spread along her own features. "So... you weren't like the others. Your contract wasn't made at my birth, it was..." She hovered one quivering hand over Fyra's arm. "I'm so, so sorry."
ㅤㅤFyra rolled her sleeve back down, teeth obviously grit. "Now you know why I have no respect for your parents," She said slowly. "And as for the shape-changer you encountered only days ago, you are correct. He was one of the experiments. I never met him personally, but your father entrusted something you should know about to my own before he died."
ㅤㅤThe queen looked up to her. "What was it?" Then, she paused. "I know you didn't expect me to come here with a lot of questions to place on you, but there are too many things I need answers for. After the shapeshifter, I can only imagine how restless the remaining experiments are."
ㅤㅤ"I don't believe you have to worry about that," Fyra spoke, turning and walking towards the statue. "His death marked the end of the ones you need to be concerned for. There are only a few who know about them - that being me, you, the Nameless, and... well..." Her eyes flickered towards the door before she paused in front of the marble sculpture. "What he left me was the file of an experiment."
ㅤㅤQuilliene, who followed along behind her, couldn't help but raise her eyes to the statue. Her gaze traced the lining of the marble, and she could only try and dig past the pain of all of the memories her mind held. Of her father. The pleasant ones, at least. He was kind, though failed at being very expressive. He spoke more through actions more than he did his words. The memory of ointment being rubbed on the back of her hand entered her mind - a bee stung her and her father kissed it and tended to it to make it better. Was that really the same man?
ㅤㅤ"If you don't mind," She spoke, ripping from her thoughts. "Could I see it?"
ㅤㅤ"Of course," Fyra responded, thought she did not look up. "He told me not to show you, and meant for it to be his last command, but that turned out to be that boy for being your bodyguard. My allegiance is to you now, and no binding words of contract can hold me from that."
ㅤㅤFyra pressed the inner part of the O in Memory, and the front piece of the base slid back and free, letting her catch it. She reached into the darkness, freeing a yellow folder. It was not aged, nor dusty, instead seemingly new. She turned to her queen and held it out. Quilliene glanced over the file hesitantly before taking it with care.
ㅤㅤ"Thank you," She said, raising her gaze to hers. "I guess there were some things I was never meant to find out, but as they say, secrets come into the light sooner or later. You just have to know where to shine the light."
ㅤㅤQuilliene turned her eyes to the doorway, then back to Fyra. "But, about my bodyguard. I... please, I must help him. He is dying, I know it, and he is afraid of himself and his abilities. Afraid of what he could do to me, I can sense it. He wants to leave to protect me, but wants to stay to make sure I'm not in danger. He means well but he's hurting, though he's an honest man."
ㅤㅤFyra stared at Quilliene for such a long time, she feared she may never answer. However, she did. "I don't doubt who he is," She said carefully. "I only mistrust what is inside of him. Whether he is a danger or not to you, that much is left to be discovered. I trust, though, that if it shows that he is that danger... you will do the right thing."
ㅤㅤ"But," Quilliene huffed. "I'm not even sure what that may entail. You've taught me much about the mystic arts, but I don't know it all. I'm sure there is some sort sort of spell of potent power than can cleanse a host from a devil and still keep the host alive. Unless..." She glanced away. "Unless his case is just as concerning as I thought it to be."
ㅤㅤ"That devil locked onto him when he died." Fyra's words grew harsh, but somehow comforting in their truth. "It came from the hells when he came back to life. Take that devil away, she takes his soul. Unless you want an empty husk that only breathes and blinks and beats an empty heart, I am afraid there is no good spell that can take that devil away."
ㅤㅤQuilliene readied herself to argue before she saw the look in the devil's eyes. Something she hadn't seen anyone feel before when pertaining to Neo. Sorrow. Fyra deeply regretted not being able to help Neo, and she despised that she had to be the one to tell the same news to Quilliene, as well. The queen looked down, watching the fountain's water bubble and ripple in terrible silence before she sighed.
ㅤㅤ"If I can do it," She said slowly. "If I can possibly find a way to make sure that doesn't happen when I heal his soul, then I will. I know you don't agree, but... I have to try. I have to."
ㅤㅤ"I know," Fyra said, smooth as silk, reached up and brushing one of the braids from Quilliene's face. "That is what makes you so special as our queen." Lowered her hand, Quilliene barely saw a smile flicker before it faded. "Did you need anything else?"
ㅤㅤ"There is... one more thing." Quilliene bit her lower lip. "I... I think I pushed myself. You always said that in most cases, I should always do that, to reach my full potential. But this was different. He died, and I brought him back, but... something inside me has changed.
ㅤㅤ"I'm not sure if it was that devil attached to him or if it was something else, but I can feel it every time I tap into my magick. Something in me stirs, and all my emotions grow negative while it becomes unstable. Strong, but unstable. I've tried not using it, especially during my recovery, but even then... it's like even a cough could set it off." She looked to Fyra in desperation. "What do I do?"
ㅤㅤFyra actually seemed to look a bit worried with her furrowed brows and light frown, but she failed to say anything at first. Instead, she reached up and placed the back of her fingers on Quilliene's forehead, then switched to feel with her palm. As if she was sick, but that much was obviously not true. Something like this was clear to Quilliene - she was feeling the opening of her magick. As if testing it with only a few light touches.
ㅤㅤFinally, she lowered her hand. "I believe," She began. "Bringing Neo back to life means you moulded with his magick for a moment. His curse. It has tainted your own, for better or worse. The way he is able to do it without an incantation or component, you are now able to do as well."
ㅤㅤQuilliene had hoped these words would calm her, but they only told her there was more to the story. "But what does that mean? The dreams I'm having, this voice I'm hearing... I know you want to say that is nothing at all, but I can't help but have doubts."
ㅤㅤ"That I have a solution for, but you may not enjoy it." Fyra explained slowly. "A personal trainer in controlling emotions. Not a therapist, per say, but someone knowledgeable in the arcane to help you master the control."
ㅤㅤShe felt shocked by the suggestion. "As a queen, to seek counselling... you have to admit that sounds a little strange."
ㅤㅤ"Many humans seek help," She mused. "Even some half-demons. Raemith goes to such counselling on the first Tuesday of every month."
ㅤㅤQuilliene frowned for a moment before she hummed. "I'll look into it, then. Perhaps that might help me with... whatever this is." With one arm, she gave the tall woman a warm hug, finding herself smelling every flower just from her hair. "Thank you. You always have the best advice, even if sometimes I'd rather you didn't."
ㅤㅤFyra didn't say anything, and Quilliene couldn't see her face in the hug to tell if she was smiling or not, but the fact that she wrapped her arms around her in return was enough. A deep breath, and the embrace was settled. She looked down at her queen with an almost proud expression on her face as Quilliene parted, much more content and in a better mood than before.
ㅤㅤ"Go now," Fyra hummed. "Before that anxious mess reeking outside ruins the prime environment of my precious greenhouse."
ㅤㅤFor the first time since she stepped into the room, Quilliene chuckled. "Knowing him, I suppose he does get a little antsy."
ㅤㅤThe devil smiled. "Visit me again when the circumstances are not so dire."
ㅤㅤHer majesty nodded. "I will."