The Beginning Of The Trail Pt. I

We left the suitor's quarters after changing back into our day clothes (obviously with the both of us taking turns with the room, sadly) as we walked silently down the hallway to where the main dining room was.

Ima didn't use a candle to light our way there, instead using her own natural sense of the castle to lead us in the otherwise pure darkness.

At some point walking down the hall, I had found a familiar looking corridor that I had seen in the morning today when I was trying to get to breakfast- the one where I found the strange door.

But, to my surprise, the door wasn't there anymore. Rather, where the door was supposed to be, it was a blank wall, much like the spacing between the many other doors.

It unnerved me, not knowing what it was and now for it to not even exist now, but I kept moving forward with Ima- we had a meeting with a Queen after all.

After what felt like a minute or two of more walking in the dark, we saw a faint glow of candlelight ahead of us; it came from the dining room's familiar open doorframe.

"Welcome, welcome- you've arrived just on time." Flaur spoke out, dim candlelight illuminated her figure from the end of the dining table in the room.

She was wearing a sheer, red sleeping gown, it looked like it split from under her chest, but it was obscured with the table. No one was here but her, but she was sipping from a cup of something as she waited for Ima and me to enter properly.

Ima said nothing as she walked ahead, and stood silently next to Flaur, she kept her eyes closed as she stood at attention.

"I'm guessing this isn't for some pep talk about the Sanguidicium?" I joked, but Flaur didn't look like she was in a laughing mood- I took a seat two chairs down from her to the right, one seat more than I had in breakfast.

"Kai, Kai Kai Kai." Flaur repeated my name softly, but she didn't look at me; she was staring at the drink in her hand, stirring it with a small spoon.

"For someone I've just met no less than two moon-cycles ago, you have certainly made quite an impression in my life." She took a sip.

"You claimed that you can solve the Stolg crisis earlier in our then 'talk'."

"I may have agreed to such a silly thing on a whim, but I cannot simply say that I do not 'have' my doubts." She rose her eyes and looked at me.

"Carmi, or as everyone knows her as, the Royal Assistant, has been trying to solve such an issue for nearly her entire tenure now."

"Why- the reason as to this whole little meeting we are having now is to tell you about who you will be working with tomorrow, Carmi that is." I could see Ima fidget slightly with Flaur talking about Carmilla.

"Is that so?" I spoke up, I had to play along that this was new news to me.

"What is there to know about her, Carmilla that is."

"Well- for one, she is my enemy." Flaur smiled innocently.

"W-What?" I wasn't expecting that kind of a statement! I feel like Ima has really understated the whole thing with our talk at dinner.

"Yes, Carmi, or Carmilla Le Fanu, to me is a loyal charge." Flaur rubbed at her eyes sleepily, she probably doesn't stay up this late normally.

"But that doesn't mean I consider her a friend- neither does she to me."

"What do you mean by that? She's loyal but she isn't a friend? What's the deal??"

"Simple, she's loyal to my title, the throne, but not to me as a person."

I think I understood.

"She'd protect the crown, but if she had to choose between the both of you-"

"Yes, she would choose the crown."

"Five points to you!" I still didn't understand this hidden point system she had going on with me.

Flaur gave a heavy sigh, handing the now empty cup to Ima, who in turn took it and walked away to where the kitchen was- leaving Flaur and me alone.

"Are you sure about that? We're alone now, what if-?"

Flaur waved me off, she looked disinterested.

"As I had said before Kai, if you had wanted me dead- you would've done so already." She blew on her fingernails.

"Then what's with all of these pretenses?? The guard thing, the restrictions, everything. Hell, you're making me actively break the first restriction already now as I'm meeting you."

"Because they're for your safety, stuuupid." Flaur giggled.

"Do you really think I trust Aim?"

"Or the twins? Ryul? Lethan the little guard??"

"Belial, or Carmilla?" Flaur knitted her eyebrows.

"Words are weapons here in Modos, Kai- unsheathe them when you're threated, or when you want to do the threatening."

"A far cry of the Goetia line's long bloody history, but it can't be helped."

"But, you said-"

"Yes, I do say many things~."

"Then how the hell can I trust anything that you're saying right now?"

Flaur rested her head onto her propped up arm.

"Because you have to- otherwise, well, you'll end up like your creator." She tapped on her forehead.

She knows about Faustus.

"Since when?"

"The moment I saw your face, that symbol is Faustus' crest." Just as Flaur said that Ima had returned to the dining room, with another cup ready for Flaur.

I looked at Ima and back to Flaur, but she didn't look worried at all about the subject- was this a test to see how well I can hide our intentions in plain speak?

"Is that so? Then why didn't Carmilla do anything?"

"Because she didn't know whose it was, only me." Flaur kept a playful smirk as she blew on her hot tea.

"Then what point is there pointing it out? What do we (you) gain? I think we (you) would've gained more leverage than unnecessarily doing so."

But Flaur didn't answer me, instead she simply drank away at her now cooled down tea.

Ima still didn't say anything either, she acted as a perfect stone wall while Flaur and I talked.

This was a difficult atmosphere to pick apart- unlike Ima, I think Flaur could be considered a perfect liar. I don't know where the truth or the lie began with her now.

How far into her web am I? Did she really lay the trail since then, when she had first seen me in person? Or was she bluffing?

I have to be careful; I've underestimated her too much.

For now, I'll have to retreat. I can't tangle with her while I have the Sanguidicium and the Stolg crisis to worry about.

"So, what's the plan." I'm resetting the conversation.

"Minus one point." Flaur muttered, as she traced a finger on her cup.

"What's the plan." I repeated, I'm not going to play her game- I have to make the best of my time right now.

"*Sigh* The plan is to just simply achieve what you had claimed to be able to do, to solve the Stolg Crisis."

"Then tell me, tell me what you know- even what Carmilla doesn't know."

Flaur rose an eyebrow to my accusation, the idea that she knows something that Carmilla doesn't.

"Whatever do you mean, Kai?"

"You said she's your enemy, and so as an enemy to you- you'd have your own reasons as to why you wouldn't want her to solve the Stolg Crisis."

I rose from my seat, but I didn't approach Flaur- normal interrogation tactics won't work on her like how I had done with Ima.

"It's because YOU want to solve it, not Carmilla." I pointed a finger at her.

Flaur kept an emotionless face as she looked at me dead-on, her cup of tea was now long-cold in her hands.

"If Carmilla solves it, you won't be credited for it- as it's something that you've inherited from your late-father, Zepar, with his declining reign."

"Sir Kai!" Ima broke her silence, she shouted angrily at me- but Flaur rose her hand up to calm her down.

"She wouldn't give you the credit- because it's as you said, she's your enemy- she only cares for the throne, not you."

"You're a means to an end for her."

"And if you're that worthless in the grand scheme of things for her, then you're nothing, you're just a body for the crown-"

"Until she's found a suitable replacement for you."

The candle on the table wavered lightly as I finished my rant, Ima looked stunned- but Flaur, strangely enough, looked relieved.

"Plus one point to you, Kai." She stretched carelessly from her seat, her bust moving up, dangerously close to spilling out of her already loose-fitting night gown.

"It's as you say, I am worthless."

"Your Majesty!" Ima cried, but Flaur wasn't moved.

"Having stripped the throne from my father, I had inherited the slew of problems he had caused along with it."

"Unsurprisingly, ruling a war-ragged kingdom with a declining economy, and a plethora of other issues, causes it's people to hope for the absolute best out of you to miraculously solve all of its problems."

"Even though we may be long-lived as Demons, it does not mean we do not feel the immediate problems we face cycle to cycle." Flaur looked around the dining room.

"With your short stay, I could imagine you have reached a certain conclusion over to how the state of the castle is, Kai?" She formed a tight-lipped frown.

"The kingdom I had thousands lay down their lives to get me, is crumbling away before my eyes- and if it weren't for the foolish deal that I had made in desperation five years ago on the moon-cycle of the execution of my father, I wouldn't be in the kind of bind that I am now."

"Bind? As in Carmilla?"

"Yes, as in Carmi."

"She came to me on the cycle of the execution, with a proposal that I simply couldn't decline."

"She claimed she could save the kingdom- but only if I abdicate the throne once she had done so."

"What!!" I shouted; I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

But Flaur didn't look phased, neither did Ima.

"Ima, you knew about that!?" I pointed at her, but she didn't respond.

"Why the hell did you agree to something as ridiculous as that!? Flaur are you insane!?!" I pounded my fist onto the table; I could feel my anger rising even though my body struggled to prevent it so.

"Thousands died to get you the crown! Levii's father gave up his life to serve some stupid blood price! Why the hell would you just throw it away for something as baseless as a claim like that!?!"

"I cannot tell you why I did agree to it- as that is for another time." Flaur continued, disregarding my rantings.

"But know this, no matter what- you MUST solve the Stole Crisis by the end of this bet."

"If you fail, the kingdom will fail- and in return, you will bear the burden of failing all of those who've come before you."

With her saying that, I couldn't stand my anger any longer- I began walking over towards to her.

"Halt, Sir Kai- move any closer and I will have to stop you." Ima readied herself, she began to form magic circles on her fists.

"Go ahead, see what happens." I was at my limit for my patience. I just couldn't agree to what Flaur was demanding me of doing, it didn't make sense.

"You were warned- forgive me." Ima cut the distance between her and I in the blink of an eye, and just as silently- not even making the candle on the table flicker with her seamless movement.

Her fist connected with my chest, where my sternum was- the magic circle in her hand began to glow.

"Dark Magic: Kiss of Night."

"I am sorry, Sir Kai...- !?" But whatever Ima was expecting to happen, didn't.

And I didn't even have to activate my skills this time either.

// Magical Immunity Successfully Negated Magic Attack. //

I was standing before Flaur now, she was sitting on her chair sipping calmly on her cold tea as I loomed above her. I had my back turned to Ima who still desperately attacking me.

"Dark Magic: Kiss of Night!"

// Magical Immunity Successfully Negated Magic Attack. //

"Dark Magic: Kiss of Night!!"

// Magical Immunity Successfully Negated Magic Attack. //

"Dark Magic: Kiss of N-Night!!!"

// Magical Immunity Successfully Negated Magic Attack. //

Over and over did I feel her frail fists touch my back, each attempt with a growing desperation.

But over and over did her magic circles fade to a crumbling gray as my body's magical immunity negated her attacks.

I didn't want to activate [Reflection] or [Absorption] on her, as I didn't want to hurt her.

"Flaur." I spoke, I could feel my anger bubble in my throat.

"Why the hell should I trust anything that you're telling me?"

But she said nothing- she was ignoring me.

I grabbed her arm, the one she was using to sip her tea with.

"That isn't how you're supposed to treat your Queen, my dear suitor~."

"Fine, I'll play your game- I'll play along with this ridiculous little thing you're cooking up." I grabbed her teacup and took a sip of it.

"And I'll help you out of this deal you out of this pact that you won't even tell me a single thing about." It tasted terrible, from what I could see, it was hardly much of tea at all- it had only a few bits of tea leaves within it, likely a testament of the underlying poverty that the castle was really suffering from.

"But, if I do-"

Flaur's face winced a little.

"You'll have to keep being the Queen, until the day you die." I let go of her arm, it plopped limply down back safely onto the table.

"Oh? Is that really all that you're asking for, Kai?"

"Do you not desire riches? Land? Or perhaps... even me?" She shot a lewd look at me as she placed a hand atop of her bust.

"Your lumps of fat aren't worth a kingdom." I mocked her as I set down the tea back onto the table.

"Tch!" She tried punching me in the gut, but as always, she hurt herself in doing so.

Ignoring Flaur's self-inflicted pain, I swiveled around to the still desperately attacking Ima, her fists were bare at her knuckles from how many times she's punched me.

I am very glad that I still had [Moon God's Might] toggled off.

"Sorry about this, I'll see you tomorrow." I said, as I grabbed her exhausted self and applied pressure onto her shoulder.

"W-Wha-..." She cried as she instantly fell unconscious in my arms.

// Skill [Pressure Point] Successful. //

I placed her gently down into a seat as I redirected my attention back to Flaur.

I was still angry, but not angry at her per se- but angrier at the audacity of what she was getting herself into.

I knew why she had chosen to accept Carmilla's terms.

"You're too kindhearted for your own good you know." I said to Flaur, who was still blowing on her sore hand.

"But it makes me angry knowing that you devalue yourself so much, that you'd throw away everything you've fought for to save the kingdom."

"It's just too stupid; you're a walking cliché of a tragic heroine." I muttered under my breath.

The hardest kind of ruler to ever be stuck with in Epoch, were the ones who put their people above their own interests.

It's easy dealing with a selfish king, as a selfish king can be molded easily to fit the kingdom's needs and wants- you just direct them to the path that will keep both them and the kingdom happy.

But for a kind ruler, a selfless ruler-

They're the kind of idiots that don't have a happiness for themselves to fulfill.

"Do you see now?" Flaur asked, she yawned sleepily as she did.

"Yeah, I see now- I guess it was really bad then, wasn't it?" I leaned against the table next to where Flaur was.

"It was- it was terrible, far more terrible than it is now. Carmilla did not lie, she has in fact been solving the kingdom of its issues- but at this rate, there won't be a kingdom left by the time she's done."

I couldn't help but sigh hearing her state it so plainly.

"How do I know that you're just not lying right now? What if this is all a ruse to get me to do something that I haven't promised myself to?" I asked Carmilla, repeating the same question I had asked before.

"You can't- you can't trust me, Kai."

"My trust is a weapon that I give only to those I believe in."

"Because who knows when they'll use that trust to end the kingdom- never mind my life."

"And so- If you must know-" She looked up at me, a cold conviction in her eyes.

"I wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice you to save the kingdom."