13. Mystery Girl II

That particular event had left Kal scarred. He and Lady Rei was in his room, and he was rethinking the morality of this plan. It should never have occured to him, but it did, and she approved of it, and they executed it.

They were winning the war, and the plan was executed smoothly. But Kal had lost this battle of attrition, and he would have to concede the point to Pria, who stoicly strode forth toward the darkness as though it was an old friend. He wouldn’t want her bearing the banners of his enemy.

Lady Pria was presently cleaning all that oil.

“That ought to at least elicit a reaction out of her,” Lady Rei said, picking at her fingernails. “You worry too much.”

“Pretend unfazed all you want, Lady Rei, but think of how she’ll see us from now on. I should have foreseen this. The plan was immaculate on paper, but executing it now…”

She made a face and stood up. “The creature. The black demon. What if it eats her?”

Kal didn’t think of that.

“Perhaps you were right the first time.”

Kal blocked the door. “We’ve gone this far,” he said. “I’ve made my sacrifice. And you?”

“And if she is attacked? Or injured?”

He reluctantly agreed. “We won’t see her, but we’ll stay in the periphery. I’ll cook us some dinner, how about that? And the trapdoor stays open.”

She nodded.

They walked side by side to the kitchen, pretending they wouldn’t leap at the slightest hint of danger. Kal was piling the stove with wood, while Lady Rei decided to sit down against the drawers, close to the trapdoor. “I don’t hear her,” she said.

It wasn’t long before they found Pria entering through the backdoor, carrying two buckets strapped to a stick on her back, and Kal realized his plan was far worse than he thought. They stared grimly at her while she walked past them, and the silence was overbearing.

She had two other empty buckets, which she carried downstairs to the basements. Thens she made her way up again.

“Young master,” she said.

Kal stared darkly ahead, past the snow fields and the trees.

“There is fish in the barrel,” she said. “I caught some earlier today at the river. They’re your favorite, aren’t they?”

“They are.” Must be Lahrs Sarnasia’s preference.

When she left, Kal turned to Lady Rei. He mouthed the words, Phase two starts at dinner.

She looked at him as if he was sending her to death. But the two, faced with grim resolve, shared that silence momentarily.

She stood next to him and started looking through at a barrel for meat. “This is all for making her fall in love with you.”

“Err—what? No. I mean. That’s part of it. But it’s absurd. We want to know who she is—“

“Whatever, I’m not listening.”

He sighed, deciding not to argue the matter.

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Phase Two: Targeting Logistical Supply Lines.

An army wouldn’t be able to march much less fight when it has an empty stomach. The emptiness in the belly clouds the mind and weakens the body. It doesn’t matter how stoic Lady Pria is—we must never let her touch an ounce of food.

Kal cooked the first batch of food—fish. This was nothing more than a prelude of what was to come. It would slyly invite Lady Pria to desire dinner while she was cleaning, so he cooked very little. He and Lady Rei shared a fish with one another.

They left the plate uncooked. Lady Rei was at the study room in the library, while Kal was peeking through the door of his room to the kitchen. They were leaning against the same wall, separated only by thin wood.

“The target departed the basement,” he whispered. “She’s staring at the empty plate. At the hot coals. Rubbing her stomach.”

She searched the barrel for food, and found fish and meat and started cooking. There were a lot more than he thought, but he assumed she must also be cooking dinner for them.

She was sweating as well, and she unrobed herself halfway down to reveal a lithe body he envied with all his heart. That back was made up of strong cuts, chiseled by years of training regularly with the bow.

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He tapped the wall once. She’s cooking, he signaled.

Five minutes later, she was almost done with the three meals when Kal gathered his resolve and tapped twice, stopped, then another two taps.

There was thump on the study room. That was the sound of the shelf falling down and scattering papers and parchments and books.

Kal walked to the kitchen. “Something happened in the study room. Find out what it is and help her out, Lady Pria,” he said. “I’ll take over.”

She respectfully bowed, and as she left, Kal gorged on the three plates. It was a contest of time. He had to finish all of them, down to the last bit of meat. But then he thought—the barrel. She could cook anytime.

He would have to command her to rest and continue tomorrow, and under no instructions should she be in the kitchen in the long hours of the night.

She would heal physically, but it ought to suffice. His plan was already in shambles.

When Pria returned, he was clutching softly at his stomach. He wouldn’t be able to eat anymore.

“Young master…”

“I was too hungry,” he lied. “I apologize, Lady Pria.”

“Did you leave something in the study room?”

He frowned. What did she mean by that?

“I saw a parchment with a drawing in it—“

He bolted out of the kitchen and down the hallway. That was an impossibility. He hid his drawings well, and far from the shelves. The two of them shouldn’t be able to imagine where it was.

But as soon as he arrived at the open door, he saw the parchment at the table. Lady Rei was wheezing and sweating.

“I never thought…” she breathed in. “Wood would be this heavy.” She had lifted up the shelf, but being a mortal it must have taken a toll on her.

He snatched the parchment, folded it up, and pocketed it. Lady Rei stared. “That was the parchment Pria found under a hollow plank. What was it?”

“Something that shouldn’t concern you. It’s irrelevant to our objective.”

“I’ll be the one to decide that for myself.” She held out a hand. “Give it to me.”

Kal pocketed the parchment and stepped back. “We’re in the middle of something here.”

She stepped forward and smiled. “The Weeping Sect has imparted me its martial arts,” she said. “Perhaps I can give a demonstration.”

“Why are we here, Lady Rei?” Kal said. “You’re distracted, I understand. But we can’t afford to lose precious time and moment.”

She stopped, and seemed to ponder over it. “You will let me see what’s on that parchment. Once this is all over.”

Kal returned back to the kitchen—and found three separate dishes being cooked. He could hear Pria down the basement. She was planning to cook again, but he was already full.

Lady Rei was still fixing the bookshelves. She could help him eat it all. So he hastily ran to the study room and asked her for it.

“Show me the parchment,” she said, “And I will.”

“You traitorous leech,” he spat.

She seemed delighted. “Is this the first time I’ve heard you cast a stone? I am overjoyed to see that side of you.”

Kal stomped back to eat the food. He was halfway through and close to vomiting when Lady Rei turned up in the kitchen and decided to finish the rest off. He had to run outside, far from the door and vomited half of what he’d eaten.

This felt more like a scorched earth tactic. It seemed like he lost the battle today as well, even if the war favored him. Lady Rei was patting him on the back. “There, there,” she said. She wasn’t very good at this. “There.”

“We need to finish the plan. Tonight. Pria will be exhausted—there won’t be enough for her to rest. Invite her to take a bath. I can’t bear to repeat another accident like the oil barrel ever again.” With a more determined look, he told himself, “I’ve gone this far. I’ll make you fall for me.”

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Phase Three (and acted not out of desperation and mistakes): Defeat in Detail.

Kal and Lady Rei decided to comfort Pria like a rain of arrows. First—they let themselves out by helping her clean all the oil… and when that extended deep into midnight, they forced Pria to go to sleep. They managed to finish before dawn.

But it wasn’t over yet. If Kal goes to sleep now, he wouldn’t wake up until midday, so he cooked Pria a lavish breakfast and service under the pretense of an apology for being crude last night.

There was that one time when Lady Rei ‘accidentally’ pushed her, which Kal immediately captured the position by extending a hand when Pria was about to fall, and, with a gentle and disarming smile, “Are you hurt, Lady Pria?”

She looked up at him and, without expression, bowed and told him she was fine, and thanked him as she made her way. She did not look fazed after all that happened yesterday.

He decided to go with his plan. That facade of hers would be her downfall once she shows a crack in her mask.

It was midnight. A time when folks would rest with their families, having finished dinner over the candles, and Kal had only been setting up his on the flatter section of the rooftop. There he had a table, a pair of chairs, wine, a candle, and freshly cooked fish and meat that could’ve been a feast.

“I still feel guilty,” he told Lady Pria. “Consider it an apology.”

He extended a hand. She took it, and as he climbed up the ladder he embarassingly took his hand because he had to climb up. “Um. Well…” he coughed and bit his lip.

He caught a glance at Lady Reimallia in the corner of his eye, who seemed to be enjoying the entire affair happen.

Another miscalculation: the weather. It was too cold, and he shivered at every whisper of the wind. Lady Pria, however, was indifferent to all this.

“You never said much these past several days,” he said. “Please, Lady Pria. Take a sit.”

He had gone this far. He would make her fall for him no matter the cost.

“I had a lot to think about,” she said, and gracefully took his offer. “And some revelations I must make peace upon.”

He poured her some wine, then he sat down. “I hope I can be of help.”

She nodded. “Do you know what the best lies are?”

“I never thought you to be interested in philosophical thought.”

“I never tell you much of anything about me,” she said. “But you have been gracious, you and Reimallia both. Have you seen a rabbit lose its predator?”

He frowned, and drank a sip of wine. Where was she going with this?

“The rabbit runs, but leaves deep marks on the snow for dogs to track on. At that point, the rabbit could very well be captured.” She unusually elegantly cut the fish and took a small bite. He had never seen her eat, he thought. “The solution of the rabbit is to return to its tracks and takes an entirely different direction.” She held up a piece of fish. “All good lies are half-truths.”

He felt faint all of a sudden. The cup on his hand fell down on the table, and as he stared at her, he suddenly felt time gradually lose sense. He was vaguely aware he was drooling at the corner of his lip.

Lady Pria stared at the rising moon. “You’re not Lahrs Sarnasia.”

She swirled the wine thoughtfully.