Fauna's Lunatic

Night time in Ironhaven was surprisingly quiet. Outside the windows, there barely was anyone working, a few houses were bright and a few workshops were still hard at work, but the people were careful to make sure that the silence was undisturbed. Carlos stared at the night sky as always, admiring the stars and the moon. He wonders, what are the Asperities up to now?

"Would mother return to the palace now that I'm gone?" Carlos says to himself. He then sighs, walking back to his bed and lying down to rest. For now, he has already left the palace, he convinced himself not to look back and think about them anymore, everything's changed. The Cardinal Manors saved him, he's protected, and it is now up to him how he would continue his new life.

While Carlos was about to close his eyes, the raven black dog from earlier barged into the room barking. He immediately rose as the dog tugged on his robes. "Hello there, what's the matter?"

Standing outside Ior's Forge, Golden Dragonfly guards the entrance to the establishment. And while she patrols, she notices Fauna exiting the door. "Fauna, where are you going?" Dragonfly asks. "The leader sent a message, better check it out." Immediately, Fauna tapped her earring. A voice message then plays.

"Golden Dragonfly, Fauna, the Triumvirate Fiend is taken care of. I restricted her wielding abilities for now, she's wandering in Iyesgarth trapped inside a barrier. I leave the rest to the prince, and you two. Do not execute the fiend unless the Prince says so. Listen to his orders as of now. I will not be able to attend to the Cardinal Manors while I am investigating the existence of the Red Courtyard. I'll see you in the next meeting at the Superior Manor."

After Fauna taps the earring, Dragonfly approaches her with a question. "So, judging by what the leader said, the Red Courtyard actually exists?"

"Yes, the prince has mentioned this, he himself confirmed it." Fauna replies.

"Woah, I thought it was just a hoax! Now it turns out it was real. How come we only knew this now?"

"The Asperity Palace is looking for the prince, I expected they'd rush out of their dens to look for him, and I was right."

"Yeah I mean, these past few days were hectic with all the Asperities rummaging through the cities."

"The prince also mentioned how the Red Courtyard produces puppets from experimented humans."

"Now that makes sense why they seem like they ain't runnin' out of attackers. Jeez."

Fauna was silent. Seemingly thinking about something.

"But like, if you think about it, why the hell do they want the prince so bad? Are they gonna sacrifice him?" Dragonfly continues to question. But she was only met with silence. "Hey, Fauna? You listening?" she tries to reach Fauna's ears, but her mind was occupied by unknown matters.

A small moment passed, Fauna suddenly spoke. "I have to go."

"Huh? Where?"

And just like that, Fauna left without looking back at her confused comrade.

Walking endlessly for hours, Fauna found herself idling in a secluded area near the river. The giant trees stood tall behind her, the night hounds were howling along with the winds, and the moon was shining brightly above her. Nobody was around to see or hear the leader, who was worryingly walking back and forth. Finally, after composing herself, she calmed down and stood still. "Santina, I summon you." Fauna spoke.

Suddenly, the gentle winds blew stronger than ever. The air ran around the leader until the fog from the river was lured into the gale, slowly turning into a thick fog which crawled towards the leader, who was holding on to her hat. The fog enveloped her sight, completely erasing the view of the trees and the running water, replacing it with nothing but white smoke. Amidst the chaos of the winds, a dark figure emerged before Fauna. "Hello, milady!" The being greeted the leader with a devilish smile. "What an exciting day indeed! You finally have your s-" Fauna immediately cuts the being off: "How dare you!"

Fauna walks closer to the being without a hint of fear, she was even shamelessly vocalizing her anger. "How dare you not tell me about the Red Courtyard! You lying lunatic. You told the Cardinal Manors that it was a false rumor!"

"My! No need to be so angry! HAHAHAHAHA!" Santina joyously cackles.

"Who told you you could lie to me and the Superior Leader about this?"

"Milady, if I knew it's existence I would've told you right away! But unfortunately even I was tricked into thinking it was pure imagination!"

"What do you mean?"

"It was Lucius all along!" Santina flashes a mischievous grin towards Fauna. "He found an abandoned dungeon deep under the palace and built the Red Courtyard in its ruins. From what I heard, the Asperities were supposed to gift it to the Queen! She'd be delighted when she returns that her slaves had built her a luxurious palace of despair and bloodshed, the sacrificial tomb of humanity and the root of the Calamity! Warden Blossom!"

Fauna clenches her fist. "The Asperities... What exactly are they trying to do? For what purpose was it built?"

"Experiments! Torture! Blood! Screams and agony all over the Red Courtyard! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Santina maniacally laughs.

"Then why was Carlos taken there?"

"I think you already know the answer to that."

Irritated and provoked, Fauna's eyes widened and stormily grabbed Santina's neck, tightening her fingers' grip the more she struggled. "Answer me properly." Fauna threatened the demon.

Even while struggling, Santina maintained the wide grin plastered all over her face and kept laughing. "Why? HAHAHAHAHA You already know what happens to every human in the Red Courtyard!"

Fauna's patience was slowly running out, her anger was getting a hold of herself and failed to notice her sharp nails burying itself on the demon's neck. "I said ANSWER ME." she said as her eyes reddened.

"Ask the prince himself! HAHAHAHAHAHA Why should I tell it to you when you have the prince?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"YOU CRAZY BASTARD!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, milady, you have no idea what happened to the palace when the Queen was gone. Do you even want to hear a story worth a thousand years of suffering?! Are you prepared enough? Did you bring your tissues? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"ENOUGH!" Fauna thundered, fiercely crashing the demon's head unto the ground with her hand, creating a crater underneath the bloody countenance. "Your contract with the Cardinal Manors is not yet over. If you keep on doing this, don't expect the leader to be merciful enough to spare you."

Still smiling even after loosing a few teeth, Santina happily replies. "Heh. I hope you also haven't forgotten that I still work for the Asperity Palace. Without me, the Superior Leader wouldn't have known about the truth of the Red Courtyard! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Tch." Fauna has had enough of the demon's antics, and eventually let go of her. "Forget it. You may return to the Superior Leader. Get out of my sight!"

"What? You gave up, milady? Poor you! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Annoying lunatic. Shoo! Get off now!"

Laughter filled the surrounding fog. When the fog eventually vanished, so did the demon and her ear-destroying guffaws. Once Santina was completely gone, Fauna exhaled after draining almost all of her energy.