Chapter 8: Home

Four days had passed in a haze from Lilith's eventful blood bath, for some reason her mood had swung and she'd become more tolerant of her captors. She still had a deep sense of hatred for them but after properly venting off her boiling anger and frustrations she found herself unperturbed by their seemingly annoying chattery nature, she could easily ignore their antics and focus on herself as well which was a sharp change from when every word they uttered caused her blood to boil like magma.

'There was a word for this, just what did that bastard call it again? Ah! Therapy!!'

Lilith thought as she remembered the white-haired bastard's words from a while back, whenever he was angered or frustrated about something he'd vent it off and beat her senseless and somehow switch personalities like night to day. He called this act of his, 'therapy', and Lilith was disgusted by it to no end and thought of it as one of his excuses but she couldn't deny that the process was effective.

She also found that the event had even changed how some of the families members treated her, the boy whose name she learned to be Arthur or at least the collar had told her due to the fact that he was one of her 'masters' was now wary and nervous towards her, something that she enjoyed to see. The feeling of being feared was quite an enjoyable endeavor for her that she craved oh so badly, she'd feared others for far too long and wasn't planning to have that pitiful train continue.

'God, did that bastard's mentality rub off on me?'

Lilith mused before glancing back at Paul who she had a very bad impression of, instead of fearing her the man for some reason began treating her like some VIP guest, he wouldn't show any hostility to her and to some extent seemed patient and calming with her otherwise rude antics. At first, she thought this was just him trying to stay on her good side but she quickly realized that the man had no reason to do that.

Lilith hadn't seen the man's full battle prowess but could still tell from the attack that he dealt on her as a distraction back when she was captured, that he wasn't someone she wanted to face head-on. She was of course weakened at that point but she still couldn't shake the feeling off, thus she knew the man had no reason to act friendly with her at all.

She tried figuring out why this was the case but failed to find any type of conclusion, even if she factored in the fact that they thought of her as priceless merchandise there was still no reason for such treatment. After all, they only needed to keep her alive.

"Doesn't matter, some people are just weirdos"

Lilith muttered to herself as the wagon slowly made its way into the city of Grazel, loud noises and chattering people made their way into her ears, there were tall brick buildings and food stalls selling items she'd never seen before but this in no way interested her. The expression plastered on her face was blank and apathetic to the scenery around her.

"Ooo, I can smell Thrands cooking from here~"

Mathew commented while sticking his head out of the wagon's entrance, his nose seemingly sniffing the air like some dog. An act that greatly disgusted Lilith as she scooched away from Mathew's dangling head.

The group was making their way through the dense bustling town square of Grazel where dozens of stalls were lined around the large circular paved road, both Dixie and Dox screeched with annoyance to the traffic along with other mounts navigating their way through.

If there was one thing to hate the most out of the long list of Grazel's annoying characteristics it was definitely the ridiculous population, the city was filled to the brim with people at every corner you went, houses and inns were stacked together as if they were one, your neighbors were your roommates if anything else and moving through the city ESPECIALLY on a busy day was like swimming through concrete.

It was something one truly had to hate and despise the most about the city, however, complaining wasn't an option for most. Those without money can suck it all up and move forward, that was the mentality of the many that lived in Grazel and it was one needed to survive.

Eventually, the family was riding down a less densely packed but still bustling street that kept the same chattery nature, while riding down the street Lilith noticed a few curious gazes pointed her way, some stared at her bloodied and pitiful appearance while others stared at the collar and short chain attached to it.

But what they all had in common was the same pitiful gaze that made Lilith feel sick, she didn't ask for their pity nor did she need it, she'd seen a few gazes similar to that but what was pity if the person pitying had no intention of helping? It was truly a disgusting act that she despised greatly.

She ignored the stares and glanced at the buildings they were now passing by and how they slowly degraded the deeper they went, she noticed the smell slowly change from one of spices and foods to one of rotting flesh and the constant buzzing of flies.

She heard the hissing of stray cats and the squealing of fleeing rats, the atmosphere itself also seemed to have changed as the chattering had died down to a nearly dead silent level. Lilith's face frowned when she saw this but it wasn't one of pity or sorrow, just annoyance that she actually had to be here.

Dixie and Dox slowly made their way through this impoverished area of Grazel where the sun never shined and hope was but a fleeting memory, however, it didn't seem like the two birds were planning on just passing through...no, they were looking for a place to stay.

Barely standing homes and inns with taverns or stores that loosely held up the signs on their roofs and even hung as makeshift doors to push and use, the group obviously passed these buildings and for a brief moment Lilith was convinced they had no business here but after an hour of searching the wagon finally made a stop.

Glancing to her right as the caravan made its abrupt stop, Lilith caught sight of an old, abandoned, and degraded church standing prominently in the glooming rays of sunshine.

"Home-sweet-home"

Were Olivia's loud and prideful words that caused Lilith to raise a brow as her head fully turned to acknowledge the church beside her, which spelled nothing but 'penniless'. At first, she thought of it to be the family's sick jokes or sarcastic remarks but this was quickly quelled by an excited Mathew sprinting out the caravan and towards the church, he came up to the door and began slowly pushing it open as even Paul and Arthur got off and towards the church.

Lilith was perplexed by this and watched as the family actually began treating the run-down church like a home…

"Mathew!! Don't forget to bring back the blankets!!"

Shouted Paul as Mathew nodded and began taking out the folded blankets within the wagon, one by one. Lilith was still perplexed at this but hopped off the wagon since it didn't seem like the family was joking, they really did live here.

Once the piles of blankets and simple clothing were stacked at the foot of the church, the group entered to which Lilith's eyes slightly widened in subtle shock.

Inside the church lay shelves of books and stacked papers that all looked old but were clearly not from the church itself, there was a tattered couch seated in the middle of the room with a few mats and carpets sprawled at random areas, paintings of different artists and images were hung all across as If imitating the aesthetics of rich nobles.

There was a stove in one of the corners that harbored pots and pans of various prices and origins, quite obviously stolen from Lilith's observation. At the edges of the room were church windows that had hanging cloths akin to curtains sprung over them with a small mat and pillow on top, it seemed as though someone slept there.

The ceiling also harbored hanging glass spheres that congregated in the middle like some makeshift chandelier, it was an impressive show of creativity and craftsmanship but a far cry from eye-catching; however now Lilith knew for sure that this was in fact where the family officially stayed.

Mathew laid the blankets on a mat just beside the sofa before plunging himself into its soft cushions, Arthur was about to do the same before Paul yanked him back and plunged himself at the opposite end of Mathew.

"Next time, don't dawdle hahaha"

"That's cheating!!"

"All is fair play"

"Tsk, cheaters have no shame"

Arthur grumbled before seating himself in the middle of the sofa with a face written with all kinds of irritation, Olivia chuckled to this and made her way to the kitchen as Lilith once again began choosing an area as far as possible from the family but was stopped midway by an adamant Olivia who gripped the little girl's shoulder.

"Just where do you think you're going? You don't expect me to cook on my own do you now?"

Olivia smiled warmly but the grip on Lilith's shoulder told volumes, she eyed the girl from head to toe before frowning slightly.

"On second thought it's best we bathe before we start thinking about food"

Paul and Mathew wanted to open their mouths and refute but it didn't take much than Mathew's wide-open arms swaying themselves in front of Paul as the boy tried to garner his mother's attention for Paul to readily agree to the idea of a bath. There was also the cold gaze that Paul received when he turned around to at first refuse the idea that also SLIGHTLY influenced his decision.

Lilith frowned in thought as she imagined what kind of bath the family were used to as she now fully understood that they weren't in the best financial circumstances, during her time with the white-haired bastard she hadn't been given the finest of rooms to 'rest' in but it was still far better than what the heinsburoughs had settled in. She was washed under ice-cold water but at least it was relatively clean, however, Lilith doubted the same could be said for whatever water the family bathed with.

There was no room to complain though and Lilith had no other option but to swallow and trudge through, once the decision of a bath had officially been made the group were led by Olivia to a hatch door on the floor in the front of the room, there stood a degraded yet still distinguishable statue of Goddess Yurma just at the edge of the hatch door.

Olivia opened the door as a cloud of dust covered Lilith's vision for a brief moment and only made her image of the bath grow even grimmer, it looked pitch black inside but a little stray ray of sunlight illuminated a small part of a ladder delving into the darkness as Olivia was already heading in.

"Ladies first"

"Wha-then what was the point of us coming here?"

Olivia turned to Lilith with a smile.

"Lilith be a dear and get Paul's sword for me"

Although irritated, Lilith grabbed the sword on Paul's waist and gave it to Olivia, the latter smiled and descended into the darkness while gesturing to Lilith to follow, she reluctantly did so and let her imagination go wild as she prepared for anything inside. Light slowly began filling Lilith's vision as she descended the ladder till she could make out the outline of a room below then a floor and finally the walls and the room itself as well as the sound of running water, she expected to find some sort of sewer system or an abandoned lake beneath that didn't bode well for drinking but not bad for bathing however the scene in front of her was far different.

The room that they were now in was a circular shaped cylinder-like structure as the walls stretched back up to the hatch doors but there was no form of light like the torches below to illuminate them, the walls seemed to be made of stunning shiny white marble that had light engravings all around them depicting what Lilith could only surmise to be mythical events that the church of Yurma believed in.

The massive floor beneath also had engravings but it was only a massive picture of Goddess Yurma, then came the source of the running water as Lilith turned around to a massive fountain-like bathtub with clear, sparkling like water escaping from a cup slightly pointed downwards that was held by another statue of the Goddess Yurma. Lilith's mouth was ajar as she stared at the exquisite room as if she'd switched worlds, she'd prepared for every possible outcome of what type of bath she'd undergo but never could she have anticipated this...

Seeing Lilith's reaction Olivia chuckled lightly and began to slowly undress.

"This is the abandoned ruins of one of Goddess Yurma's many churches, they all harbor fountains like this beneath them where they create and collect holy water by finding water reservoirs and placing purifying spells and prayers to turn it into holy water"

Now fully undressed Olivia walked up to the fountain and placed Paul's sword in the water as it began to glow a tinge of red to heat up the water inside.

"Usually abandoned churches destroy these fountains to keep them from exploitation but I guess the priests here were in a serious hurry to leave, how lucky could we be?"

Olivia smiled back at Lilith as she dipped herself into the water after confirming it was warm enough before gesturing for Lilith who wanted to refuse at first but couldn't decide to anyway since the bath looked quite enjoyable and the dried blood on her was becoming uncomfortable. She slowly made her way to the fountain and dipped a single toe in, noticing the waters warm and embraceful temperature.

After feeling something so seemingly soothing she took off the pillowcase like dress she'd been wearing and dipped herself in, completely forgetting her utterly bloodied appearance that threatened to turn the waters red in her own blood and that of another beast, however, such a calamity didn't befall the bath as even with Lilith's appearance the water kept its clear and sparkling look yet the bottom of Lilith's legs to her knees were mostly rid of the blood.

Lilith looked at this with wonder as Olivia only smiled at her amusing reactions.

"Holy water can't be dirtied or contaminated, after all, its sole purpose is to purify"

Olivia said as she brought up a bar of soap from the edge of the marble fountain, she sat Lilith in front of her as she began lathering the little girl with soap; much to Lilith's surprise and confusion.

'Just what's with this switch in treatment?'

Lilith pondered as she obediently allowed the woman to do as she pleased, the collar had once again noted one of her master's intentions and was now influencing her behavior to which she was not going to fight over.

Contrary to Lilith's thoughts, however, Olivia's attitude hadn't changed in the slightest and was merely acting out of her own kindness. She was indeed a shameless thief willing to go to any lengths in the hopes of money but was still a compassionate person at heart, she was a mother after all…and besides, it's also a great idea to keep your potential bag of money safe and well cared for.

After applying the soap Olivia began by first scrubbing the hair thoroughly and with great care, polishing the chalice. She admired Lilith's vibrant and eye-catching hair color as she scrubbed it continuously and noticed just how long it hadn't been washed, there was dirt and grime at every corner as Olivia found it hard to scrub some areas but still continued.

When she was finally satisfied she rinsed off the hair and continued to Lilith's face and body which were still a deep shade of crimson, she rinsed off most of the blood before applying soap to her hands and cleaning her body. As she scrubbed Lilith from the face down visible fading scars began showing across her body like ornaments embroidering her body with jewels of thorn, her pale skin littered and roughened by the scars as Olivia ran her fingers over them, her eyes frowning as she did so.

For some reason, Lilith felt that Olivia's scrubbing speed had slowed as she was now practically lathering her. She glanced back for a brief moment only to see the woman's complicated and frowning gaze, for Olivia she was subtly struck with a stabbing feeling of pity as the scars on Lilith's body revealed a truth that the woman found grim.

"You were a slave before this weren't you…?"

Olivia asked as her hands suddenly came to a stop, the collar on Lilith's neck was influencing her to speak but she adamantly fought and refused against it. Even as a slave she still held personal details close, it was the least she could do for herself.

Noticing the silence, Olivia smiled warmly and continued scrubbing.

"It's fine not to tell, I'm sure it's a sensitive topic for you so I apologize"

Said, Olivia as she began scrubbing once more and rinsing Lilith's body. Their conversation or at least Olivia's rambling had fizzled to just awkward silence, once Lilith was properly washed Olivia bathed on her own before coming out of the bath.

As the two exited Lilith went to pick up the pillowcase-like dress she'd left on the floor but before she could do so it was soundly picked up by Olivia who wasted no time in burning the dress with Paul's sword causing a frown on Lilith's face but the latter only chuckled.

"Aww, don't look at me like that as your new master I have decided to change your set of clothes"

Olivia took a towel hanging from the bathtub's edge and wrapped it around Lilith as she changed back into her own clothes.

"And I have just the perfect outfit for you"