Ten Days

"This makes for an awkward situation, huh?" My voice echoed in the silent chamber, unsure of whom it was addressed to. Agnes stared at the corpse and gagged. The two blades poked out of Louis's skull, making him look like a demon. He would fit right in; in hell, that is.

His irises were gone, leaving only white. His mouth never found its chance to close and remained slack-jawed.

I rubbed my face and a silent sigh escaped me. "Damn it. How am I supposed to clean this up?" I sighed once more, only because I could. Breathing, you see, was reserved for the living, and it is placed as a reminder, like a ticking time bomb, holding us hostage and forcing us to exhale and inhale. Maybe Louis wished to escape that endless repetition. I would never know, as he was dead. Dead indeed.

The floating girl held her mouth. Her face grimaced in disgust. Even though she had her first kill not too long ago, seeing such gruesome a passing was still too much it seemed. The viscous blood kept spreading, flowing out of his head with no signs of stopping, and created a pool on the hard floor. Agnes's face paled as she laid her eyes on the vitreous gel oozing out. The opaque liquid of his inner eyes followed closely behind that boy's pure red blood.

If I remember correctly, there should be a well close to the house. Maybe I ought to drop him inside there? Would he forgive me if I didn't serve him a proper burial? I could at least accompany his rite of passage, but what more could he want?

"Hᴇ ᴅᴇᴄɪᴅᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴇɴᴅ ʜɪs ʟɪғᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴀʏ. Tʜᴇ ʙʟᴀᴍᴇ ɪs ᴏɴ ɴᴇɪᴛʜᴇʀ ʏᴏᴜ ɴᴏʀ ᴍᴇ. Yᴏᴜ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴀᴛ, ʀɪɢʜᴛ?" Agnes placed her arms around my shoulders. She consoled me like she was consoling herself. Even so, I could not reject her. Even if she emitted no warmth, was shivering and knew this problem was beyond her experience, who was I to not reciprocate the love I was given—even if it was a toxic poison?

"This does not look good, does it," I joked, but found no answer.

It was still. It was, until Louis's chest suddenly continued expanding.

In shock, I stepped backward, halting on the desk that revealed jewelry. His tattoo kept increasing in size, inflating like a balloon.

"Now this really, really doesn't look good," I said, and as I did so, the lifeless Louis began moving. I had no machinations in this, I swear.

His body convulsed and the tattoo on his chest glowed dark red. I instinctively stepped back. Bang, it went, and a bright flash straight from Louis's chest took my sight. I squinted my eyes shut, feeling stunned and blinded by the intense light. I felt a gust of wind pass me by, carrying a peculiar scent. Was it. . . sandalwood? I couldn't tell. For a second, I thought he might just revive, telling me more about his mother he so cared about, but when the light subsided, I saw nothing. Nothing...

The room remained silent, as it ever was. Raya slept soundly—not a sound—as if there wasn't a bubbling corpse prostrating on the ground and bleeding out his orifices, because there wasn't. Yes, Louis, amidst all silent commotion, had disappeared. It seemed like he never existed. In a bright moonlit room, unshadowed by anything at all, he vanished. His despairing grimace, eyeless face, tall stature, and even the violent-red blood splatter embedded in the wooden floor, nothing remained, except his clothes and two knives—one for eating and one for hunting—both void of any blood, and resting on the ground.

I could not react, feeling like a deer caught in headlights. The unnaturalness left me speechless. As it was, right in front of me, a human being—albeit dead—vanished from my very eyes. A few minutes passed before I dared to step forward. Only then did I find that Louis did leave evidence of his life. Within the servant's outfit I found a fleshy apparatus covered in red. Naturally, I took it into my hand to scrutinize it. I then held it against the open window, the only light source in the night.

"Say," I laughed helplessly, "is this what I think it is?"

The thing in my hand, upon closer inspection, resembled a chess piece; A pawn, if I had to be exact. It was squishy to the touch and felt light on my hand. Still, I was sure that slippery soft feeling could only be skin. The piece pulsated with life, and its veins ran through like rivers on a map. It had hair, short ones, but still noticeable upon touch. A rotten stink wafted out of it. The thing felt lifelike. It was as if Louis never disappeared, as if he only transmogrified into this grotesque being, and I could do nothing about it.

I heard Agnes right behind me heaving; thankfully, she hadn't eaten anything, or her puke might have sprayed everywhere. The girl was young, I could not blame her sudden nausea. Shone upon with light, that chess piece was like a devils' creation, a different one from me.

I gently placed it on the ground and the moonlight kept illuminating the abomination.

The moonlight does not discriminate against disgust or beauty. Even upon death, it continued to rise at night, unbothered by the judgment of humans. And once more tonight, the meaty chess piece only accentuated her glory.

I set it down on the ground, on earth, as it rightfully deserved, and I realized, the floor with its checkered design looked eerily similar to a chessboard. Pawn to C-4, I thought to myself, hoping it might explode once more. Obviously, it did not. The bundle of flesh had no will after all. I threw it away, not wanting another second with it. I found no words for this bizarre situation. Right at the moment I planned to interrogate the one lead I got, he went suicidal. I was still shell-shocked by this abrupt turn.

"He died. Was it because he revealed one of the secrets of the organization? Or rather, should I call them Crowns of Camelot instead?" Again, no answer was delivered to me. I relied on the information I got and pieced it together.

First and foremost, did he lie? Impossible. I saw not an ounce of distrust in his eyes. No human could stay sane in such psychological torture. Thus, when he referred to a princess, he really meant it? He did. Without a doubt, the chief of all misery was referred to as the princess. That was irrefutable evidence; Thus, she tried to silence him. My mind returned to the time Estella passed away. I remembered the group of bandits. I could not help but wonder, if I managed to reveal their identities, would they have suffered the same destiny as Louis, imploding into a useless scrap of meat, forming a chess figurine donning some indescribable symbolism? So many questions of which I'd not find an answer to. All I knew—and that with hundred percent fact—was that there only existed one 'princess' whom I acquired ill will off, and that is the daughter of this country, the sister of my ex-fiance, the girl of all affection:

"Iʀᴇɴᴇ Aᴠᴇʟʟɪ," Agnes blurted out. No matter what she insisted, we did have good synergy.

What a farce. "What a farce," I repeated, this time out loud. I slammed my fist on the floor; An incredibly loud thud resounded. Raya twitched in slight defiance but ultimately did not awaken. "Princess, there's only one fucking princess I know of, fuck, is there? Is there?" I gnashed my teeth, enough for them to hurt, and apparently if I read Ms. Agnes's thoughts correctly; I ended up making a terrifying face. I slammed my fist on the floor again; The lesions from my first strike tore open. However, when I thought about that smug face of my old fiance's sister—the face of all evil—who slid into the beginning of Agnes's misery, no pain was adequate.

"Rᴇʟᴀx, ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ɪs ɴᴏ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴀɴɢʀʏ. Yᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ sᴄᴀʀɪɴɢ ᴍᴇ," Agnes tried to placate me. But she did not understand. I was—I am—Agnes. All her suffering was mine to bear. And certainly, the death of my beloved: My Estella, was nothing the original could easily understand. In essence, this was also my fight, and she had neither the mental nor physical capabilities to rebut.

I laughed. My command on Raya worked like wonders; The sleeping beauty had no intention to conquer her forced slumber.

"So that's it, isn't it, Irene? These two goddamn siblings. Every time there's a problem, it's these two. The annulment, the bandits, the D'Anele Estate, and now this. Oh, how incredibly annoying." I rubbed my eyes. My violence made me feel tired. My jaw started to ache from all the clenching. This intense discharge of emotions wasn't good for my heart. I calmed myself down. "10 days."

"Wʜᴀᴛ?"

"I was planning to take it slow, but no. In ten days, just before all Archdukes meet, I will etch my name into these siblings' souls so they may never fucking forget the face that destroyed them." I clenched my fist. The fresh wounds bled with stinging pain. "I will make them pay. Upon my soul, I promise you that." As my words left my mouth, so did my strength. I flopped to the bed, laying right across Raya. The whole night, I remained awake.

-

"And this is the reason we are visiting a brothel today."

"Exᴄᴜsᴇ ᴍᴇ, ᴡʜᴀᴛ?" Agnes gave me a fully confused look.

The weather in the morning was great. A nice summery breeze with the sun only slightly peeking through the clouds. After the festival yesterday, large amounts of trash had accumulated in the capital, though the rain had washed most of it to the sides. After a day of celebration, this country returned to its normal state. Raya too, returned to her usual state. She held her nose while loosely following behind me. Occasionally I would feel her intense glare on my neck, but when I turned around, she aimlessly gazed at her surroundings. Though it was a little uncomfortable, it did give me a chance to talk with the original Agnes.

"Isn't that obvious?"

"Nᴏ. Cᴀʀᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴇɴʟɪɢʜᴛᴇɴ ᴍᴇ ʙᴇғᴏʀᴇ I ʜɪᴛ ʏᴏᴜ?"

She opened her hand, making me flinch. "Always quick to violence. Have you ever been to a brothel?"

"Wʜʏ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ I ᴇᴠᴇʀ ɢᴏ ᴛᴏ sᴜᴄʜ ᴀ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ?" She looked at me with derision.

"Because that's the entrance to our destination." I walked a little faster. "To hell, that is."

"Tᴏ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ?" She repeated my words, confused by them.

"Think about it." I smiled. "Do you believe that the Chess Organization could ever operate upfront? No, of course not." I shook my head. "They hide in the shadows, at the same place I used to stay: The underworld of crime. But I'm hardly part of that scenery in this world. So, the best way to enter—without staying forever—is usually at places like casinos, strip clubs, and maybe even coffee-shops. But I don't think coffee-shops exist here and I do not wish to lose all my money for one entrance ticket. We're not out to meet loan sharks after all."

Agnes stayed silent and thought about my words. "Tʜᴇɴ ᴡʜʏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴀ ʙᴀʀ ᴏʀ ᴀɴ ɪɴɴ? Yᴏᴜ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏs ʜᴇᴀʀ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴏsᴇ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇs ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴀ ᴄᴏɴɢʟᴏᴍᴇʀᴀᴛᴇ ᴏғ ᴄʀɪᴍᴇ."

"There are all kinds of people in both those joints, it's too chaotic. In a brothel, however, there's just one certain type. Don't underestimate the power some of these places hold. Remember, intercourse invites intimate information." I halted my words. "Also, I want to see if there are any cute girls."

She sighed. "Fɪɢᴜʀᴇs."