A few minutes had gone by since Elinos left the room, the eerie atmosphere within the room had gone up by tenfold the frightening aura's that emanated from both Niona and Yasue sent chills down my spine. Turning around, I saw the two of them staring deathly daggers into one another, I'm now worried that they could come to blows with one another at any moment. And if they did, I doubt more than a quarter of the mansion would be left standing at the end of it.
“I don't know what Elinos was thinking but, he should have consulted with me before making a decision”. Any normal person would have thought nothing of the statement but, looking at Niona I could tell she was trying to keep her composure in front of me and Ellana clearly not wanting to embarrass herself.
The room was suddenly filled with Yasue's hysterical laughter, her brown hair moving frantically as she tried to control herself. Niona, on the other hand, wasn't amused, I watched her fist tighten, hearing a knuckle crack from how hard she must have been clenching her fist. A few seconds later, Yasue gradually stopped laughing but, she didn't seem at all worried about the consequences of getting on Niona's bad side, in fact, to me, it almost seemed as though she welcomed the challenge.
“I was afraid that you have gone soft since leaving the temple all those years ago…” I could see a small twinkling in her eye as she looked at Niona “but, it's nice to know that you haven't completely gone soft on me”.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Niona fidgeting uncomfortable for a moment after hearing Yasue's comment. Standing here watching the two of them converse with one another, I nearly forgot that Yasue is supposed to be starting my training and preparation for the Inauguration Ceremony. Although I knew I had no choice in the matter, right now, a part of me wanted to sneak off back to my room or a secluded area of the mansion and get back to reading my book. Before I could decide on what to do, Ellana shuffled forward before I even realized it.
“U-Um, a-are we suppose to be helping Edona with the Inauguration Ceremony?” Upon hearing Ellana utter those words, I held back the urge to let out a strained sigh. I'm happy that both Niona and Yasue now had something to occupy their thoughts other than wanting to hammer each other to death. But a part was also annoyed that I couldn't sneak off in the middle of their stare down, and I wish I acted on that urge instead of contemplating on it.
“As much fun as it is to clash head with you, Niona…” Yasue flicked her hair back with a smug look on her face, “… I do have a job to do, after all, Elinos did ask me personally to help”. Once again, the look on Yasue's face was enough to make Niona bite her bottom lip before taking in a deep breath.
“Well, let's hope that everything goes the way it should”. Niona had an unsettling smile on her face, it almost looked like she was hoping for something bad to happen to Yasue.
Niona then turned her attention to me, she walked towards me before kneeling down to my level, “Listen to what Yasue tells you, even if I hate her guts, I trust her enough to do this”. The way that Niona just casually admitted that is quite surprising that when I glanced at Yasue I half expected a less than savoury response to that. But instead, she seemed to enjoy the jab at her, as I saw quietly giggle to herself. It came as no surprise to see Niona's face twist into anger while trying to keep her composure.
She then turned her attention towards Ellana, “It's time we leave them, the two of them alone, they both have important topics to discuss”. At first, I expected Ellana to object considering she had been so attached to me both figuratively and literally, so it came a surprise when Ellana willing went along with what Niona had told her.
I watched as both Niona and Ellana leave the room, the latter glancing at me for a brief second before disappearing from my view entirely. Their footsteps echoing as they moved further away from the room, a moment later, Talaena stood at the entrance and bowed towards Yasue.
“Lady Niona, asked me to provide whatever assistance you may require, Lady Yasue”. Talaena seemed almost uncomfortable being here, which seemed odd to me because she would usually always act the opposite to what she was now. Has there been history between the two of them? Or did Yasue have an infamous reputation that even a servant like Talaena would be well aware of it? It's hard to say, however, it would definitely be worth looking into when possible.
“It will certainly be useful to have some extra hands for this, so I'm glad for the assistance”. Yasue's barely unchanged expression still sent a chill down my spine, her eyes felt like they could literally look right through you, and that creepy small smile didn't help either.
You're probably thinking that I'm just a horrible person, just casually thinking that but, there was something truly unsettling about Yasue's personality. It was confusing to me how both Elinos and Niona didn't seem at all fazed by this, almost like it's commonplace to act like this. Yet is Yasue is the first person I've ever met since being reborn in this world with such a unique personality so to speak.
I watched Yasue drop back down onto the plumb sofa that she was sitting before stretching her body, she was silent for a moment like she was thinking to herself about something. She then turned her attention to me, and instinctively I felt my body stiffen as she laid her eyes upon me, at first, Yasue seemed disinterested in giving me any attention whatsoever. Yet a few seconds later, she motioned for me to come to her, that's when I realized just how much my legs ached from standing in that same spot for such a long time. As I moved my legs, I felt the strain of my muscles as if I had literally just woken up from a long sleep, I tried my best not to show it to both Talaena and especially Yasue.
As I moved closer, Yasue then tapped the free space next to her on the sofa. At first, I felt reluctant, but I quickly pushed that thought aside not wanting to get on her nerves I quickly took my seat next to her on the sofa. For the first few moments, the room would be filled with complete silence, to be honest, it felt unnerving. I looked towards Talaena standing at the edge of the room, trying not to look in the general direction of where me and Yasue sat on the sofa. I then glanced at Yasue to find her not giving me any attention, normally someone my age would probably be frustrated by that yet I felt glad to be the centre of this woman's attention.
It felt like ages before anyone spoke up, so when Yasue ended up being the first to talk I had mixed feelings about it but, I didn't say a word, especially not in front of her.
“So you're the girl that Niona gave up everything she had for?”. It's clear that the question had been directed towards me, and I could sense a hint of frustration and disappointment in her tone when that question escaped her lips. She didn't seem to care how she put it across or how rude it sounded, to be honest, in the short time I've known her she made such a thing clear when being confrontational with Niona.
“I wonder what's so special about you?”. As I turned to look at her again, she flicked me on the forehead with the tip of her finger. Although the pain only lasted a few seconds, the stinging sensation could still be felt around the area of where she flicked her finger. I could even feel small tears in the corner of my eyes welling up but, I fought to keep them back, not wanting to give Yasue the satisfaction. Before I could say anything myself, Talaena interrupted.
“Lady Yasue! I can't sit by and let you treat Lady Edona in such a way!”. This is the first time I have ever seen Talaena act so seriously, usually she was always happy and joyful there had never been a time that I remember ever getting so serious. Seeing her acting like this for the first time, really made me question how much I really knew about her, even after all these years.
Yasue let out a single chuckle from her mouth, “Don't get your panties in a twist, Talaena”. I could see Talaena out the corner of my eye, and she looked like she didn't quite know to respond to Yasue. To be honest, the way Talaena spoke out earlier almost seemed to be on instinct rather than thought through beforehand, regardless, I am glad she spoke up for me.
I heard Yasue sigh heavily. “Look, Edona, I don't have anything against you…” she looked away briefly but, I caught a glimpse and I could see her cheeks turning red “…i-it's just me and your mother has a bit of history, to say the least”. Hearing Yasue mention such a thing made me wonder what happened between her and Niona. It became obvious from their short exchange from before that the two of them had a history that stretched back long before I had been born.
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It did make me wonder what exactly happened between the two of them. At least, looking at it from Yasue's perspective she seemed to harbour some emotions towards it, whether they were good or bad I had no idea. But, the last thing I wanted to do is pry into a clearly sensitive matter especially if it had a chance to upset Yasue, the last thing I wanted was for her to take it out on me.
“Anyway, let's get started, after all, I have been hired to do a job”. Yasue became serious, which surprised me since she was rather hostile towards Niona. Her behaviour, to put it bluntly, is out right chaotic and unpredictable, it made it worse by the fact what her face expressions were near impossible to read. Turning to look at her, those staple eyes of hers that still made me uncomfortable looked directly at me, it almost felt like she could look straight through me.
Yasue stood up from where she had been sitting on the sofa this entire time before turning to look at me once again, she stood there quiet for a few moments before speaking up.
“Are you coming?" Yasue got straight to the point which is surprised almost throwing me off I stumbled to my feet but, I quickly composed myself as I followed quickly behind her. As expected, Talaena also followed suit closely behind us as we all left the room. When the three of us entered the hallway Yasue briefly looked briefly in both directions before going left in the hallway.
As I followed in Yasue's footsteps, I looked back at Talaena who still followed us. She obviously noticed me looking at her, and all she could simply do is muster a weak smile. The way Talaena had been acting since has really started to make me feel uncomfortable, it was something that I had never seen before, and it made me wonder just what made her personality change so suddenly.
"You're awfully quiet" It's clear that the comment Yasue just made had been clearly directed at me. At first, I had to think to myself about how to respond, partly because I didn't know what to say right now, too much has happened in a short space of time in the last few hours. Heck, you could even apply that to the last few years, I had so many unanswered to just about everything.
"I-It's just...all of this is just so new to me..." I paused for a moment as I thought about everything that had just happened to me, "... I-I'm just a little nervous about all this" I didn't quite know how to respond to Yasue, at first, so I just decided to give a short and simple response. After all, I still had a lot of my mind to really think about anything else at this point, however, from the look on Yasue's face that caught from a glance she didn't seem satisfied with my answer.
"For someone so young, you definitely act mature for your age..." she paused for a moment as she stopped in her tracks then turned to face me, "...it's almost as if I'm interacting with a child." The look on her face quickly changed from her boisterous and light-hearted persona into something more serious, almost frightening in a way, as her stare felt like it had just pierced through my skin for the killing blow.
I'd be lying if I said that it didn't bother me one bit, however, it felt unsettling how quickly like the switch of button she changed in that instance.
The comment she made almost frightened me, it's the first time ever since being reborn into this world that felt a sense of fear for my life. Thinking on what Yasue just said, for a brief period, it seemed to me that she somehow knew my secret from the very beginning. But, at the same time, it had to be impossible, after all, we both only just met for the first time about an hour or so ago. I couldn't quite tell what Yasue really thought as we both stood there looking at one another, making eye contact for s split second before she continued walking down the hallway.
"Is something troubling you, Lady Edona?" I heard Talaena's voice from behind me, I turned to face her, and for that brief moment I contemplated whether I should tell her what had just happened.
Yet, I decided not to, after all, I haven't even told any of my family, let alone any of the servants about the fact that I have been reborn into this world. I didn't know how they would respond or act knowing something like that, and I couldn't take such a risk without knowing for certain what that outcome would be if I did someday reveal the truth to them.
"I-I'm fine, really, I guess...with everything that has happened I've yet to let sink in." I hoped with the answer it would dissuade Talaena from prying into it any further, but, looking at her face with that expression, it would seem that she had her doubts about what I had just told her. Talaena looked like she was weighing between two choices before she suddenly spoke up.
"You know, Lady Edona, if you don't want to go through with this straight away, can put it on hold until you're ready." Hearing those words escape Talaena made me happy, knowing that there are people who care for me. Obviously, Elinos and Niona also cared very much for me considering they're my biological parents, as did my sister Ellana.
Before I could even respond, we both heard Yasue shouting out to us from a distance. She had already walked so far without us that she had reached one of the many double oak doors that lead to and from the main building of the family mansion.
"Hurry it up you two, I haven't got all day!" Both me and Talaena rushed on to meet up with her by the doors. As we both got closer, Yasue went ahead, opening the double doors, revealing an exotic garden of flowers and trees that made it look like a whole other world existed just outside the mansion.
Before today, I couldn't go any further beyond these doors as they were always locked but, this day, for some reason, I could see what had been a mystery to me for all these years for the first time in my life. All I knew about this area before today, is that Elinos would spend a lot of his free time outside his family and the duties of a noble in this very place had been locked tightly for all these years. I know this because I would often try anything I could in my earlier years to get inside, and one night I ended up being caught red-handed trying to open the door by Elinos himself.
As the three of us walked through the garden maze, I couldn't help but, be awes trucked by what surrounded me. Most of the trees were small and trimmed as if to keep them in check, so they didn't grow out of control, many of the trees leaves sported a varied colour palette such as pink, orange, red and many more. Walking amongst these trees felt oddly familiar like I had done this once before, yet, I couldn't quite tell what it all meant to me. Is this a memory from my past life, or am I simply experiencing some emotions for the first time? It's hard to tell.
We kept walking through this garden, it didn't take long until I could see a building in the distance begin to emerge amongst the foliage. As we got closer, I could see the somewhat decrepit nature of the building itself, covered in thick vines. I could even see a dozen or so bricks either missing or visibly broken within the foundations of this building. On either side of the double wooden doors, I could see fully armoured knights standing there as still as a statue, it would be easy to mistake them as such if I hadn't already known about the many guards that already patrolled the mansion and the grounds that surrounded them.
Getting closer to the mysterious building, neither of the guards said or showed any action to stop us from entering, instead, they both opened the doors. With the doors fully open, my eyes rested upon an utter pitch black room, with no way to make out with the naked eye what was exactly inside that room. Yasue stopped before speaking with one of the guards, as for me, I couldn't help but, be drawn in by the building before me. Nothing really seemed out of place until I started hearing the whispers and hushed voices around me.
At first, I thought it had to be my imagining things, after all, I didn't get much sleep in the last few days. But then a second later, the voices came back, this time more audible and incoherent than the last time, almost like someone had read my mind and wanted to tell me that it's not my mind playing tricks on me. As the seconds went by, the voices started to become a jumbled mess in my ears to the point that it started to sound like white nose.
Instinctively, I fell to my knees, clutching my ears as they to ring along with the sensation of what felt like my head spinning. I suddenly felt someone touch my shoulder and on cue the voices stopped like the power to them had been suddenly cut. I turned to see Talaena with a worried look on her face.
"Lady Edona, are you alright?" I could hear the worry in her voice.
"Quickly send a message to Lady Niona!" One of the guards ordered the other. One of them was ready to rush off before Yasue suddenly stopped them. Although I couldn't see their faces, you could tell by their body language that they were confused by Yasue's actions. I turned my attention to Yasue, who's gaze already laid upon me, accompanied by that emotionless, dead - eyed look on her face. Something that I had quickly started to come accustomed to in the short amount of time that I have known her. The two of us stared at tone another until Yasue finally spoke.
"You heard the voices, didn't you?" I didn't quite know how to respond to that comment, if anything what she just said surprised me. Did she have something to do with it? I thought to myself.
She let a short chuckle escape her lips. "I guess that does answer some questions about you." After making that comment, Yasue turned to look at the entrance to the building where a small swirling purple ball of light began to form.