Oh! Susanna

"Excuse me, what?" asked Mavislin, shocked.

"Play me a tune. I'm bored. This silence is deafening," complained Marquess Dalles.

"I only know one song on the piano," whispered Mavislin.

"Then play me that one. Sing it if you can."

"For such a childish man, you sure know how to boss people around," murmured Mavislin.

"What's that, darling?" asked Minwoo.

"Nothing. I'll start playing, Marquess Dalles," replied Mavislin, stretching out her fingers.

With a deep breath, she began to play a simple tune. And the Valkyrie started to sing. It was a simple tune, yet the singing in every verse had various meanings. The room seemed to liven up slightly as the Valkyrie played her childhood song based on what she could remember.

When Valokia was still there. When her family had been broken. When the War had not come.

"Oh, I come from Alabama with a banjo on my knee,

I'm goin' to Lousianna, for my true love to see.

Oh, Sus-anna! Now, don't you cry for me.

For I come from Alabama.

With a banjo on my knee," sang Mavislin as she continued playing.

The Marquess smiled as he read more reports on the recent Umbra cases. The pieces were primarily grotesque, descriptions of how the rogue shadows terrorized the victims—words of people's shadows 'bringing them to the dark side.

The recent Umbra attacks had notified both Viscountess Ling, Earl Yan, and Duchess Midford. The only one out of the Five Kings that had not been alerted was Gabriel Tuazon, a baron that was a skilled poison master posing as a barista.

Unfortunately, Baron Tuazon was elsewhere, so getting to him would be a problem.

"It rained all night, the day I left.

The weather, it was dry.

The sun so hot, I froze to death.

Susanna, don't you cry..."

Minwoo stifled a laugh as he stamped another approval. He found it amusing; how could the weather be dry and the area was raining? Or the fact someone could freeze by the sheer force of the sun's rays?

"I had a dream, the other night.

Where everything was still.

I thought I saw, Susanna-dear,

a-coming down the hill.

A buckwheat cake was in her mouth,

a tear was in her eye.

I said 'I come from Pixieland',

Susanna, don't you cry."

Minwoo continued reading as he listened to the Valkyrie's playing. Though he had found the lyrics quite confusing at times, the upbeat yet slow melodious playing pleased him.

"I soon will be in New Orleans,

And then I'll look all 'round.

And when I find Susanna-dear,

I'll fall upon the ground.

But if I do not find her,

this dark'll surely die.

And when I'm dead and buried,

Susanna, don't you cry!"

At this rate, the Marquess had halted his work entirely and was gazing at the Valkyrie for questions. And answers. Mavislin felt eyes penetrating the back of her head and stopped playing.

"Is that not to your liking, Marquess Dalles?" asked Mavislin, turning to look at him.

"No, it is fine. I quite like it. But the lyrics are quite confusing, to say. Who is Susanna?"

"Not sure. It was an old song back from where I grew up. Mother used to sing it to us when we were little. We asked who the person was, but she never seemed to tell. But some of the moments in the song are mildly depressing."

"Mildly? I'd say someone might cry a river if they were in the wrong mind..."

"Are you done? I'm feeling a bit hungry," said the Valkyrie.

The Marquess gave a hefty sigh as he placed the report on the desk. He was glad the Valkyrie was not facing him since he had crammed massive amounts of depressing news in his head.

The body count from the Umbra had skyrocketed during the past few weeks, alarming most of the Kings of the underworld. If this continues, the Arks and the Kings of the underworld might be fully activated.

If the above-world society cannot handle this, dwellers of the underworld will take over. Things could be messy since policies within the underworld are not the same as the above-world ones. Minwoo shook his head. What was he thinking? Mavislin was one of the founders of the Arks.

She was the founder of the Barren Pillars, the attacking ace of the Arks. She was used to these things. If anything, she deserved to know what was going on. She shouldn't be kept in the dark about something so important.

But...

"Marquess? Mind if I head to the kitchen to grab something?" asked Mavislin.

Minwoo stared blankly at the last report of the stack. It wasn't a report; it was a personal letter to the Marquess himself. From Gabriel. It was to confirm his whereabouts and notify him that the Umbras had reached the Asian continents.