Chapter 7 Residential Hall

Iris's new quarters were the Peridot Room. It was literally the best guest suit in the house, reserved for royalty. Cultivators in the deity stage often commanded sects, clans, bloodlines, schools, they were royalty in their own right. Iris was someone who ascended, making her even greater than the emperor and any person on this continent. She was unsure if the saintess had ascended to become an immortal but assumed that was the only way she could come back to her. Valentine's room was down the hall a few doors, while Mary had received the Sapphire Room. Her room would be the second-best room in the estate.

Valentine kept her room in the residential wing rather than stay with her mother in the adjacent residence. Her reasons were something she didn't want Iris to know.

"This is way fancier than when I first came here." Iris remarked, this was how it should have been when she arrived, but she hadn't minded sharing her room with the maids. They were all nice girls, mobbing her when she had returned, prior to her short prison stint. Though it had been a short mobbing, unbeknownst to Iris, the jealous glare from their boss prevented them from going too crazy.

"I'm sorry." It was a short apology. and standing there in the room it felt just like old times. Walking to the giant bay windows, she looked out at the garden.

"Ill forgive you if you get some tea." She didn't even have a chance to turn around before the noble had disappeared. Softly smiling she took a moment. Iris nor Valentine had any idea when they met the first time who the other was. Some time as the duchess heir made her aware just how integral the dukedom was to geopolitics. Valentine's formal approach indicated she understood the respects and customs of the martial world, as well as just how impressive she really was as the Rainbow Sage. Taking a book out, Iris took a moment to rearrange the room, putting the couch and tea table next to the bay window. Knowing Valentine, the last book of her favorite series from the martial world, would make this a perfectly quite afternoon for the two of them.

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"I didn't know that Valentine was so smitten with that maid, Iris? Is it Lady Iris now or duchess-in-law?"

Mary and Charlotte were holding tea as they usually did. Without any work to take care of, all that they could do was spend time leisurely.

"I don't think they are married yet so I think Lady would work." Mary enjoyed the time with her mother. It saddens her that her elder sister would never join them, but some of the circumstances surrounding her birth mother kept them both from pushing the issue.

"I'm glad that she has someone now." A pang pinged through Mary. She wondered when it would stop.

"Mom, that's…" Mary began hesitantly.

"If it makes them happy, we can just not oppose it." Lady Charlotte set her teacup down and looked at her daughter.

"Lady Lockheed has always been a wall. I could never figure out how to reach her, so I didn't. You did, daughter, better than I. I think you sisters will be just fine, but all's I can do as a stepmother, is not get in her way." Looking at her daughter she wished she had more or better to say. Her mother always seemed to know just what to say, but Charlotte was a mess when it came to her own daughter. It was luck more than anything that she turned out so sweet.

"Mabey your right, they seemed so comfortable together." Mary said mournfully.

"How about we go talk to Lady Iris than about it? She hasn't been back long so she might not have a chance to have sorted everything out." Her mother suggested seeing Mary uncomfortable and guessing wrong on what her daughter was worried about.

"I suppose we could, sister took her the residential wing." Mary stood, stretching as she did so. Had her sister been present she would have been chided for such undignified behavior.

"Let's go mom." Charlotte smiled as her daughter helped her up. These insane dresses that everyone insisted she looked amazing in were difficult to wear.

After making their way through the halls and pathways to the residential wing. There they saw one of the servants leaving and Lady Valentine leaving Iris standing in the doorframe. This worked great for them because they could now squeeze out all the details form Iris. Catching her before she closed the door and a simple greeting from each. Both spotted the couch, noting it had been moved and tea set on the table. It looked…cozy.

"So, you must be here to listen to the rest of my story, right?" They had moved to the sitting table, a set of exquisite hardwood chairs and table. It was ideal for meetings given that the guest who stayed in the suit were important movers and shakers. Politics ever truly stopped.

"No-" Charlotte began.

"Of course, we are, it was so interesting Mom wanted to hear about it to." Mary cut in, she wanted to hear Iris talk about her love life with Valentine as much as she wanted to go back to washing her cloths on rocks in the river.

"We can skip the boring training part and go straight to my first big adventure as a cultivator. My hunt for the Apple blossom Sanguine Flame!" Her eyes were alight, it had been her first major campaigns as a cultivator out of the sect.

"Apple blossom Flame?" Charlotte was clearly confused. Mary had understood bits and pieces having picked up some of the martial jargon from having spent more time with the duchess maid pair.

"There are thirty-seven essences flames, each with their own nature and age. The apple blossom flame regrew every 100 years, but as it was rank 37, it wasn't a high priority for most. Its also the youngest so it and weakest. With limited time and space, most coveted the higher-ranking flames, thought it didn't mean it wasn't wanted. Pill practitioner, talisman makers, artifact forgers, all greatly benefit from having one." Iris explained, leaving out that the more stuff one crammed into their soul the harder it was to advance, and essence were permeant. Most beast, earth, sky essences could join and evolve with others, but essence fires had ego, and refused such union.

"I had set out form Quince Yan, a city run by the Yan family…"

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Quince Yan was inland from the beast sect lands. It was fairly prospering for a backwoods city. Passing by a clothing store, she stared longingly at the newest elegant patterns, none of which she could afford. It took great willpower to not buy a cute yellow ribbon accessory, which Iris lacked. It was why a ribbon now was tucked into her travel rucksack, and she might have to go hungry for a day.

Passing through the sandstone gate, she left the city behind, making for the sanguine forest lands. It was a boring trip, and she was able to converse with other travelers while they were there. As she approached even further into the boonies, others became sparce.

"There's a shrub. There's a rock. Just like the last two" Iris might have lost it a bit as she spoke allowed. It had been a long, uneventful trip. Behind her the tips of the Kee Lan Mountains finally disappeared beyond the horizon. In the setting sun she looked over the craggy grassland, looking for a small batch of rocks and earth to spend the night. Breaking a bush to serve as firewood, she made a small fire in the depression and cooked some pitiful rations. Disgusting and indestructible, they at least were very filling.

Wrapping herself up in a traveling coat, there wasn't much else she could do to keep warm. Slowly the long hours passed.

"Its cold but with the fire I should be able to sleep in the early morning. It would have been nice to have a ten-year log, but those cost a few spirt stones. I wonder if I can become a pill maker, they make so many spirt stones, I could hire a parade to watch my fire." At the lest she could manage some mediative cultivation, pouring rain on her ridiculously sized foundation.

"I wonder how Boarder Wood will be. It supposed to be a small town that serves those brave enough to try and travel the Sanguine Wood." Glancing at the stars, she could tell enough time had passed that she wouldn't freeze before her fire went out. Curling up after placing the rest of her bush, she managed to sleep without trouble. Unbeknownst to her on top of the small rock she had took shelter behind, a pale figure sat looking down at the sleeping girl.

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Iris came to bound and gagged, being carried on a pole between two people in dusty cloaks. Her back was wrapped around the pole and surprisingly, it wasn't that uncomfortable. The grass rope did irritate her wrist and legs, but at lest she was up high enough to not be dragged along the ground. She was surprised that she didn't awake but she had always been a heavy sleeper. Next to her was a tall, graceful women in the same dusty cloak as the other two.

"Mhph" It was intended to be something like 'hello, why am I suspend from a pole.'

"Quiet, sacrifices don't talk."

"Rharphm" 'This gag sucks, and what's a sacrifice?'

"You two, do something to make her stop." She had no more to say, and the guards bounced the pole a bit. It was distinctly disorientating, eliciting a small series of hmp's. Arid grassland had given way to dark wooded jungles. Beyond the trails, walls of roots, vines and vegetation formed an impenetrable barrier. The canopy was dense and thick, filtering almost all the light.

"Were here Lady Seed." Flashing a small wooden badge, vines descended, yanking all four up into the canopy.

"Take a good look, sacrifice. The Poison Vine Sect will be the last thing you ever see." It was a clear crisp haughty voice that only a princess could use.

"Take her to the cages." With a small nod the two carrying the prisoner left the tall, graceful cloak and whisked Iris away.

The Poison Vine Sect were a group of cultivators who settled in the woods that were now known as the Sanguine woods. Carnivores, poisonous, blood sucking plants reigned dominate within the area. Over time a hardy group of lithe tree dwelling cultivators emerged and after ten thousand years, the wood gave birth to a flame cynosure.

The Apple Blossom Sanguine Flame.

Despite her suspension, curious gazes were fixed on her as she was hauled through the sect. Wood palisades formed vast decks and structures were carved and built into the trees. The people had wood and vine motifs in their adornments, but otherwise wore regular disciples clothing. Iris didn't think they would have been out of place. Eventually they stopped cut her from the branch and threw her like a sack of grain into a suspend wooden cage.

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