Chapter 82: The vessel

    The servants of the castle were caught by surprise when a pillar of flames suddenly appeared in the middle of their quarters. The approximate location is likely due to Jasper’s limitations as a doll. Under normal circumstances Ariellia might be willing to explain and calm the chaos that ensues but not now. At the moment the only thoughts running through her mind are the violent images of what she might do to Anya if she so much as moves a single rose off her mother’s ice coffin. She immediately summons Sena to her side the moment she sees the petite maid transporting a bundle of sheets towering two heads above her own.

“Sena, have you seen Miranda?”

“No my lady, she is likely inspecting the new nursery.”

“Nursery?” Ariellia and Rei both freeze, their faces a weird mix of confusion and embarrassment. Their marriage hasn’t even been consummated yet, why does the head-maid need to be so proactive? Sena reads the strange expressions on their faces and laughs, very aware of their youthful misunderstanding.

“For the new dragon lord to be born of course. This is our first time hatching a dragon egg, so she wants everything to be perfectly arranged for our lord ahead of time.”

“Oh-okay, you make a good point. Right, have you seen any outsiders on the grounds?” It’s unknown how Anya intends to sneak into the castle. It’s not like she has a plausible excuse to gain access, they haven’t been friends for many years and the whole town knows about the bad blood between them.

“No my lady, Mayor Takao has sent word that he’ll be traveling to give proper thanks and condolence for your loss in the coming week. He says there has been a sudden break in the case of missing residents in the city.”

“That is good, keep up the good work Sena.”

“Yes, my lady.” The young maid bows her head and continues with her task, unaware of the creeping emergency settling in her lady’s gut.

Ariellia rushes to the north wing as soon as the short conversation ends. The passageway to her mother’s coffin is one she knows by heart. It’s a place she visits while her father is away on business trips, in times when she’s left on her own to question the reason behind her existence. It’s a place her father doesn’t visit often but makes every effort to maintain. Outsiders aren’t allowed, only she and David are allowed past the inner chamber at the bottom of these long winding stone steps. The further down they descend the colder the air becomes. Once they reach the final door Ariellia pricks her finger and offers a drop of blood before the large twenty-foot-tall stone double doors will open.

Yet despite all these safeguards, once the doors open an uninvited guest is already waiting within the chamber. It’s Anya, leaning over the ice coffin suspended on the water pool at the center of the large chamber.

!

Ariellia nearly flew into a rage upon seeing her enemy so close to her mother’s body. If Rei didn’t grab her hand and pull her back, she would have launched herself at the wolf-girl without a second thought.

“Wait, we still don’t know why she came here.” Rei tries to reason with her, but he knows she’s past reasoning at the moment, this is too personal for her.

“Calm down little moonshine, aren’t I here with you? What can she do that I can’t handle, don’t rush in like a fool. I too want to know what game she’s playing.” Jasper tries to persuade her as well.

“Very well.” Ariellia concedes through gritted teeth.

‘Hey, we’re switching out now.’

‘Now, why?’ Eren is shocked by the sudden change in plans.

‘Because my affinity is life magic and I have no attack spells that can hurt her in a fight. If she so much as damages my mother’s remains, I want you to make her suffer pains far worse than death, are we clear?’

‘Crystal clear my lady.’ Eren swiftly takes command of their shared body. Finding the scene before him to be unfamiliar and shocking.

The sound of the two large double doors opening must have been loud, yet Anya doesn’t spare them a single glance. She’s too focused on breaking the barrier over the ice coffin. It’s obvious she’s been at it for some time, her hair’s matted to her forehead because of all that sweat. Finally, she gains some purchase, dismantling half of the spell on the coffin. David had been so meticulous over the spellwork for his wife’s resting place, layering several spells into one. She only manages to remove the spell that keeps her from opening the coffin’s lid, the rest she can’t even touch. Still, that is all she needs for what she’s about to do.

“Are you aware of what you are doing child?” Jasper’s true voice echoes in the large chamber, a clear warning.

Anya finally turns towards their group with a sick smile of satisfaction on her face. “Very much aware, I’m only retrieving what’s meant to be mine. What use does a corpse have for such fine jewelry in a lonely place like this?”

She smirks and summons the choker on Folami’s neck into her outstretched hand. Upon contact, a dark energy begins to seep out of it, encompassing her entire hand and nourishing her like dark nectar. It resonates with the orb in her stomach and the rose necklace already on her neck. It’s only once Jasper sees this that he begins to have an inkling of what may really be going on and just how bad things were about to get.

“You, who are you?” The abnormality in his voice was enough to tip off the other two of the strangeness surrounding Anya. This isn’t the girl they grew up with anymore.

“Why, curious? I’m not telling.” She seductively sticks out her tongue, while nonchalantly positioning the choker over her slim neck, and fastens the clasp on the back.

The doll at Ariellia’s hip vibrates, showing just how troubled his true body is by her words.

“Rei, Arie, do not be rash. That is not your friend, she must be possessed by the remnants of the old demon lord.”

“Demon lord, what are you even talking about dolly? Since when does a system get mistaken for a demon lord, is that a new plot twist for ggggg these days?” Anya looks off to the side like she’s having a conversation all by herself, mirroring someone experiencing mental instability.

“System?” Eren’s mind latches onto the familiar term being used out of context in an unfamiliar setting.

“It all makes sense now, it must have all started with ‘The Rose of Unending Woes.’ This whole time it’s been grooming her to act as a vessel...but how did she get her hands on the Thorn Orb?” Jasper doesn’t catch Eren’s slip of tongue, too focused on the gathered cursed items on her person.

“Thorn orb?” Rei asks.

“I told you before when we defeated the demon lord, we received seven items and Vaiya placed a seal on each of them. To prevent troublemakers from stirring shit up in our absence when we return to our normal lives, we each took an item for safekeeping. Henley took the ‘Rose of Unending Woes’, David took the ‘Thorn orb’…and Folami took the ‘Red Covenant corsage’.”

“Then…?”

“I fear this is larger than anything we were prepared to face. I still can’t leave your father’s egg unattended so the aid I give will have to be limited. Do you still wish to fight her? It’s unknown how much power the demon has been able to recover. We still have a chance to seal her inside the tomb.” Jasper offers wise words of caution to the emotional teens, frustrated that his old enemy would pick such a time to strike.

‘And leave her with my mother’s body, over my dead body!’ Ariellia immediately rejects the idea.

“So, you’re saying the source of her current change are those cursed items, if we separate her from them there’s a chance we can save both Anya and Lady Oya, right?”

“That is far-fetched but a likely possibility…yes.” The doll vaguely agrees, not willing to give the boy any false hope.

It’s enough of a green light for Eren, who promptly cracks her knuckles. He promised to give the wolf girl a beating if she so much as disturbed a single lock of hair on Folami’s body, stealing an item off her body should still count, cursed or not. He’s obligated to fulfill his promise to the landlord.  

“Enough said, we’ll know it all once we defeat her anyway.”