Clearly having been on the verge of sleep, a woman with a petite stature who looked to be in her mid twenties opened the door. Her pale green eyes were barely opened, but her straight viridian hair had been pulled back in an attempt to appear presentable. Only every other button on the tight pajama top had been fastened, and the flashes of skin from her small bust ruined the attempt. Nonetheless she was a dazzling sight for any man.
The faces of the men, and even Unona were in shock.
Mostly because it was not Vanessa.
“You idiot! This isn’t her room!”
“I can see that now, let’s just, run I guess?”
“S-s-sorry, wr-wrong room…” Marten stammered as Martin and Unona bickered. They began to back away, but when Marton’s deep voice sounded, they paused.
“You are that Little Miss, are you not?”
“Y-yes! I’m sorry for—”
“This is merely a coincidence.” At the sight of Marton, once getting over her shock, the girl immediately began to bow in deference. Marten knew the KeDolas family held a lot of power, but their friend separated them from his business. The amount of fear and nervousness on the girl’s face made the Marts wonder how dark the underworld was. On the other hand, Marton didn't attach any weight to the conversation. “A new girl by the name of Vanessa has recently come to Jegel under the care of Karen TeYuvoin. Where does she reside?”
“I-I’ve never heard of her.” Answering, the woman looked like she tried to turn her head away, but couldn't. Instead, the temperature dropped and she hugged her arms, beginning to shiver under Marton’s cold glare. “I-I-I real-really don't know-w.”
Marton made no alteration to his stance, but the girl went from shivers to tremors. Unona almost stepped in, but both Martins interposed an arm. As those who had gotten close to him, the fearsome aura had relatively little power, yet it could still make them sweat. For her to get caught in the crossfire was not something they wanted to happen.
Eventually with no apparent prompting from Marton, ‘Little Miss’ broke down and fell to her knees.
“I-I’msorrysorry,I’msorry! Sh-sheshelivesd-down,t-twodoors,two doors that w-way.”
“Do not speak of this matter.” Marton turned around, as if losing interest in a droll headline. Martin looked at the sobbing girl and clicked his tongue.
“Way too much blubbering, it’s really freaky when you do that.” He scratched his head, not feeling sympathy for the girl who just tried to deceive them; but also realizing the insanity that sometimes could follow Marton’s fierce will. “Martin, how about you babysit until we get back? This mess could certainly cause a scene.”
“It seems even you can make a salient point. I shall make sure this woman returns to her rest properly. Marton, are there any details I should be made aware of before proceeding?”
“No need to be on your guard. Her hostility sees me as only an accessory to her true target. Be ready to leave.” Martin nodded, and picked the girl up to carry her back inside, closing the door behind him. The remaining Marts began heading down the hall, but Unona grabbed Marten’s shirt, pulling him back to her.
“What the fuck was that?” She hissed. Now that the oppressive display ended, the full force of her personality could be brought out. Furious at the tyrannizing of what appeared to be a bystander, she began to voice her displeasure.
“She lied and held an ill will towards us. Even had this not been about Nessy, our action would still be justified.” Marten shrugged. It may have seemed overly cruel, he recognized there was a necessity. The Marts were not an group of ivory tower boys; much time passed since first staining their hands with human blood. They would seek to alleviate such things as much as possible, but if it came down to it they would be remorseless.
Unona on the other hand worked within Corinth. A huge and bright metropolis, it wasn't she had no difficulties, but it was on a different level than what happened before her. Young men who jovially chatted with her daily, who she teased and acted unrestrained around, and would tell her of their escapades took on a different form.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“You utter bastards, she literally pissed herself out of fear! Four men showing up outside a woman’s door, scaring her to the point she collapses...oh gods, and now Martin’s in there with her, what the fuck are you thinking? And what the fuck made her react to Marton like that? A devil couldn't cause that much fear in someone…”
“Marton has never acted excessively in the time I’ve known him.”
“Yeah, it's pretty terrifying, but if there's anyone who should get something so fearsome, he's the best. Even I could get angry about trivial crap, but Marton doesn't let that kind of stuff get to him.” Unona was cut off by The Marts defense.
“It makes me glad you two trust my judgement to such an extent.” Dipping his head in a shallow bow to Marten and Martin, he felt grateful they put so much faith in him. He realized the mores were different between them, but in the underworld of society, a sense of honor was the only thing that limited what actions could be taken. To have others innately trust in you was something that could not be quantified as a leader. “I suggest you head on alone ahead. Unona requires time to settle, and this will let you be undistracted.”
“Thanks man. Don't let them make a fuss.”
“Best of luck, I guess. Now, shall we find a place to wait Unona?”
“Fine, but we’re having a talk.”
The remaining three companions left him at Vanessa’s door. He’d literally just worked up the courage, he could do it again; it was just a knock. Besides, if Marton had confirmed it, then the girl definitely believed that Nessy really did live in this apartment.
He knocked, and this time it was a woman closer to his own age than Marton’s.
“Ah, Ten, what are you doing here?”
Unperturbable, Vanessa opened her door and reacted with nominal surprise. No matter how out of place the situation, she could remain focused; Marten liked, loved that about her as well. He acted flighty, while she could remain stoic, to one who meandered in the face of failure, it was just another thing that drew him to her.
“Y-you…” Marten looked at her. About his height, a few inches under 6 feet, Vanessa stood in a relaxed posture. Iridescent eyes sparkling with radiant blues and purples, he decided it didn't matter if he acted over the top if that was how he felt. He cleared his throat.
“Vanessa, we have spent so much time together. Almost every day in the Poet’s Ruin, we spoke and laughed together. When you stopped coming a week ago, I thought nothing of it; you have your own path to walk and I thought the road would eventually lead back as nothing other than a distraction from the day to day. However as the days passed, a longing grew within me.
“Unona had not told me that you had been taken away to Jegel. It was sudden, and advanced your dream, I am happy that such an opportunity befell you. But there was no closure between us. Perhaps I should be happy, as it has forced me to seek you out and say what I wished to. Not seeing you in the shop cleared a foggy mind, showing how empty the world could be. I want to be with you, so long as the sun or stars remain in the sky. Please, will you be as one with me, to stand by my side, and I by yours?”
Marten fought in countless life-and-death battles and traversed fiery hellscapes, yet never did a place make him sweat and act nervous to such an extent. He could realize that the two of them were a distance from each other, only ever acting casually. Yet if he weren't to reach out in the final moments, would there ever be another chance.
Vanessa’s full lips were pressed together, contemplative, yet still showing signs of happiness. Her wavy, lilac hair oscillated as her head tipped side to side. Though it didn't show strongly, it really did come as a surprise to her when Marten showed up. He always seemed to try distracting himself from any failures, so taking action in this way didn't seem like something he would have ever done.
To discover, and unearth hidden knowledge; that was the crux of both of their dreams. In an irksome manner, the ‘Runic Genius’ acted not only humble, but downright depressed with earth-shattering revelations. He wanted something more than what put any other to shame, but even a greed like this she could understand. It was the fact that every time failure approached him, he would retreat to The Marts and others for company.
She also had a dream, to discover the supernatural origins of her heritage. However she was nowhere near as talented as Marten, or even Martin, in any field. Vanessa could only attempt to save up to attend a small school for a year or two to try and learn the basics of some magical art, and then develop the rest on her own while continuing to search for more information.
Watching him treat his ‘dream’ so dismissively had put her off. She still felt attracted to him, but knew at the end of the day, he would not see anything challenging to the end unless dragged along.
Or perhaps he just hadn't really known what he really dreamed of.
“There’s not going to be any way for us to be together. I'm sure the neighboring rooms would find out quickly.”
“Even so! I made it here before, I can come again!”
“If you come too much, they'll definitely find out about it.” Vanessa smirked. “How about we go inside for a chat, I have a nice place here. My friend Karen has been really generous with her support.” Hooking her arms around his, Marten beamed and hopped forward as she started to pull him along.
“So who is Karen? I don't recall you ever talking about her, but you must be rather close. This isn't the kind of place to give to someone you barely know.”
The pair sat next to each other on the couch made from a velvety hide, eventually shifting closer to lean on each other. Their feet stretched out onto the crystal coffee table, dark purple and transparent; Marten could only identify the material as pricy and cold. Or it was all just an expensive stage for a slow-paced game of footsies as they talked.
“She more or less has. Before recently meeting up again, I only saw with her at the Issyth shrine for a short period. We did speak quite a bit at the time, but I couldn't have told you her name before she reminded me.
“I felt a bit skeptical at first, but it seems she learned something since our separation. The main reason she took an interest is that she is also curious about the true origins of my skin. It didn't match up with anything the power backing her knew, so she asked me to develop and see where it went. And that suited me perfectly.”
Vanessa held her hand out, turning it over. Only slightly tinting her light skin with a pale amethyst, along her veins and closer to her chest it became a glossy royal purple. Such a thing wasn't worthy of note in a place as large as Corinth, and it even looked alluring to many. But what made her uneasy was she knew nothing about it.
“There's no need to worry Nessy.” Marten took her hand. “I'm sure you will find out. Every discovery had to be made first by someone.”
The two smiled as they drew close to one another.