Chapter 2:
As the magical cat retreated with the row of dirty dishes behind her, Hannah anxiously shifted her weight from one leg to the other, unsure what to expect now: a three-headed beast sleeping at the attic? boxing trees? masochistic leprechauns?!
Well, the latter was actually a trend that even the pink-haired girl had heard of. Alcels became extremely popular at the time, as William told him, they replaced the illegal Faunus fights after Fauns had won their rights years ago, and since there were barely druids left and the ones that there were didn't come anywhere close to Nexus City, the mutated trees were a legal gap and there was nobody in in the city who cared to think about nor fight for its rights.
The jester's tinkling snapped Hannah out of her thoughts, as she blinked a couple of times and remembered her situation.
That's right, jester, survive, life or death.
A floating note appeared before her, another message from the jester, who changed the way he sat, feet up and kneeling on the chair as he tilted his head, gaze fixed in Hannah's direction. Those dark, empty holes in the eyes of his mask that prevented her from seeing what was behind it, sent a shiver down the girl's spine.
That´s Lily, the caretaker in charge of looking after and mantaining the House.
If you need any asistance, just call our name three times
and we will be happy to come there for you.
Hannah gulped at the information. Would she call the cat? Sure, no problem... as soon as she figured out if it really was a cat and not some magical beast. The jester? The girl doubted if there really was any situation that actually needed help from that being.
Just call our name three times, and then something fell into Hannah's mind; wait a minute, did the jester have a name?
“ W-Wait... er... what's your name?” the girl asked. As soon as that sentence ended, the atmosphere of the entire building felt heavy, the pressure became greater in the air as the jester, arms and legs, seemed to shake faintly at the question. The tension was both physically and mentally becoming unbearable; Mana.
Mana used to be everywhere, only very specific places in the world were lacking mana or directly void of it, for example, Nexus City was one of the places that had a wealthy mana presence. However, Hannah never felt such pressure coming from someone, in reality, it was her first time feeling mana, although it was not the ideal circumstance in which it could have happened.
Luckily, a miaow paused the release of mana that the jester was letting out; the miaow came from Lily, who was suddenly sitting behind the jester, managed to snap out of what seemed like the trance the jester entered. All that pressure and atmosphere was lifted in a breathe, the jester stopping his shaking, and the house returning to the warm atmosphere of the beginning little by little.
Hannah's chest ached, her ears were deaf, her vision blurred and her head was spinning more than a swirl. Her eyes met for a second with the cat behind the jester, who meowed again, sensing a message behind just that one miaow.
And Hannah breathed again. She gave several heavy gasps, supporting on her knees to keep herself from falling face-first, the pressure of that mana was such that by instinct her body held her breath for gods knows how fucking long. She raised her gaze to the Jester, confused and frightened, gathering all the will she possibly could to stop her trembling.
The Jester, for his part, just stared in silence at the cat, who looked him back, swaying her tail gracefully as she held his gaze. They stayed that way for several minutes. Hannah, crestfallen, didn't have the courage to say anything, however, amidst all the silence and stares, the Jester and Lily looked like they were communicating. Eventually, the pink-haired girl noticed the shadow in the ground of a piece of paper floating in front of her and looked up to read.
Gado, you can call me Gado
“Gado...?” Hannah murmured slowly, a quirky name, but she had come to hear worse. Oddly, the jingle of the jester's cap bells rang in that tonality that the girl had identified as his “laugh” ... Though Hannah, like many other recent things, couldn't comprehend why the jester was laughing now.
“What's so funny?” she asked crossing her arms, it was enough to be the victim of so many random events, she also didn't need to be laughed at now. Noticing the pout Hannah made at his laughing, the Jester waved his hands frenetically in front of her, as if in an attempt to apologise.
These sudden mood swings were definitely not going to be a good thing for her. Still, the girl let out a small chuckle at his act. Maybe the jester was a good person at heart, he had shown that he possessed deep mana reserves, he definitely could have killed her at any time and didn't do anything like that for now. In any case, he helped her!
Why?
[...]
After that, the jester proceeded to show the rest of the House to Hannah, each room more impressive than the last. The library seemed larger and deeper each time she entered, stuffed with so many books that she doubted she would ever be able to read them all in a lifetime. The guests rooms were spacious and, from her perspective, extremely luxurious.
Something else Hannah hadn't expected to experience, was being bathed by a cat. It was a long time since she had felt both the warm sensation of the water on her, the soft, light almond smell of the shampoo, the large, large messes of dirt being carried away by the gel, shampoo and water, leaving her almost immaculate after getting out.
The moment she saw herself in the mirror after finishing drying her hair and being brushed by a floating brush controlled by Lily, she was surprised by her reflection.
Was it really her?
It was so long since she had last seen herself so clean, the feeling of her hair being brushed itself even brought back memories of her mother, taking care of her and dressing her. It didn't last long, it was several years ago and the time with her parents sadly wasn't something Hannah was able to remember at all, only short but vivid memories that came to her from time to time.
Hannah shook her head.
No, it's been a long time, there's no point in feeling sad...
Once Lily seemed to finally give Hannah thumbs up after she finished dealing with her appearance, Hannah entered the guest room which the Jester offered her to stay and saw on the bed two folded sets of clothes, one of pajamas, and one that had a more casual look; a rather simple white shirt, with no apparent decoration or print, with a pair of jeans, high shoes, and a gray jacket which helped to complete the attire.
None of the clothes in special seemed to be of a brand that Hannah would recognize by sight for so many years of seeing adults on the street showing off their stylish brand attire, however, on the tags of the clothes handed out there were a peculiar symbol on them resembling the Jester's mask, hat included. The material was soft and comfortable, Hannah had no understanding of fashion beyond noticing people on the street, but she didn't need to know much about it to notice that the quality of the material could be sold at grossly inflated prices.
Everything was neatly tailored to her fit, although at this point, clothes that matched her right size didn't even come close to being the oddest thing going on in that house.
By the gods, a cat had just brushed her hair with magic.
“Lily... What are you?” tried Hannah, crouching and resting on her hands and knees so that she was about eye level with Lily, who just kind of miaowed in response.
“Meow.”
“I get it... me too.”
She nodded with confidence, letting out a small chuckle after that brief chat, and Hannah was left to ponder between two options: She could investigate the house more to find out just how much she could take advantage of her sudden and unexpected situation, that huge library surely had something in it that even an eleven year old girl could understand, wouldn't it?
Stolen story; please report.
The second option was to seek out the Jester, perhaps not the safest nor the smartest option, but for now the being -besides the fact that he could be intimidating- had provided Hannah with a ton of help, as long as she was cautious around him, the pink-haired girl saw no reason to fear that she would be in too much danger.
In between those two thoughts, the girl's mind proposed a third option which gained strength by every second Hannah's eyes lingered on at the bed. She also noticed that Lily had made space to one side, even if Hannah had her doubts as to what kind of being Lily was, she preferred Lily's company rather than sleeping alone in a foreign and alien place like where she was.
How long had it been since she had slept on a minimally decent bed? In her defense, she felt the fluffy pillows and soft blankets starting to make eyes at her, and the exhaustion from everything that had happened began to seep into her body.
Words that William once said to Hannah came into her head.
"Don't let your surroundings push you around, you're young! You have as much leeway and time as you feel you have. Now, let's throw that bitch a rat for taunting us."
Drunk William was certainly the William with the best advices, even though the man wasn't quite right in the head, they made an amazing duo. With these nostalgic memories, as soon as Hannah's face landed on the sheets, she felt all the fatigue of the events run over her mind and body like a truck, falling asleep within seconds.
[...]
-Somewhere in a room, far, far away from Hannah-
POV of ???
“Why her?” she asked, she couldn't see a thing even with her skills the inside of the room or with her high [Perception], even if the room was totally dark she should see something, it was most likely that he was influencing her to prevent from seeing anything. And then he received his answer.
Tinkles.
That was the way he always communicated, no matter how long she had known him she was never sure if he was just silent or couldn't communicate at all. The most annoying thing was to understand those tinkles, it always took her a few seconds to comprehend the message behind them. After deciphering it, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. Always so childish even despite being so ancient.
"So, what will it be this time? You always look to take advantage in something, I doubt this is the exception,” she tilted her head, yawning from exhaustion but stopping halfway through after hearing another tinkle.
Six up, three down, one sharp... er, no, four? Dammit, stupid mana messages!
Her eyes suddenly widened after finishing deciphering it. Turning hastily at the general direction where the tinkle came from, she couldn't help but clench her jaw in anger, or perhaps it was the impotence? Either way, she could notice in all that darkness the smug gaze of the being, and resignedly she clicked her tongue and turned her gaze elsewhere.
Scumbag.
[...]
-Back to Hannah-
Normal POV
When Hannah eventually woke up, it was tricky to tell for how long she was sleeping. She felt completely refreshed, although it would take a while for her head to fully wake up; as she stretched she felt a certain release and resting that she hadn't felt in years.
The girl noticed that where the cat once laid with her, it was no longer there, however, the memory of the cat also brought the Jester, the House and her current whole situation back to her mind all at once. She glanced around the room turning her head frantically, Hannah already knew that the Jester even with those bells he could move in the blink of an eye without making a sound , what could assure her that he wasn't just behind some curtains keeping an eye on her?
She had some certain bits of fact to know that he wasn't going to hurt her at least, but she still wasn't sure that she could fully trust that jester, maybe not ever.
Climbing down the bed, Hannah walked carefully to peek out through the door and check the hallway carefully, looking both sides and finding nothing but the same carpeted floor and the same abstract-adorned paintings on the walls. Still, in a corner of her mind there remained the fear that when she blinked the jester would suddenly be in front of, beside, or right behind her. And his mysterious and colorful appearance didn't help to make him any less intimidating.
Well, welcome back survival sense, I was starting to miss you.
Steeling herself, Hannah went out into the hallway, to test the situation she will called Lily a few times and wondered if there was anyone else inside the house, nothing confirmed that she was the only guest, right?
Without receiving any feedback, she let out a sigh, she had no choice but to explore, if only a little, the place. As tempting as the idea was, staying in the room would make little progress in her goal to learn and leave the place being reasonably independent. The more she would be able to benefit from the place, the sooner she could be ready to leave with no trouble at all.
The first rooms Hannah checked were the rest of the guest rooms, looking to see if there were any other guests in the house besides herself. Everything pointed towards no as far as she could tell, and the only conclusion she could come to was that the guest rooms were similar to her own, with some minor variations in the arrangement of the furniture, but none gave any sign that anyone had been there before her.
After checking out the guest rooms she decided to go to the second floor, the living room was still the same, the long dining table was still as clean as Lily had previously cleaned it, and there seemed to be no presence of... no-one, neither the Jester, nor the cat. Hannah knew she could call them if she wanted company or help, but neither seemed to convey complete assurance, least of all the Jester; by being alone at least she was free to take things at her own pace.
The House being so huge, Hannah felt her inner child bubbling up again, playing in her head that she was an adventurer inside of an enchanted mansion... which in one way, she was. The entire second floor consisted of some playroom with different and varied types of toys, bathrooms, and a couple more guest rooms smaller than the ones on the second floor.
How many people are supposed to come for there to be so many rooms?
The kitchen on the other hand was locked, the door was missing its knob as well and there was a small trapdoor that she took for granted was for Lily, as she was a cat. Still, curiosity got the better of the pink-haired girl so she ducked down a bit and poked her head through the trapdoor itself to take a quick peek... Only to find that there was a box very close to the other side of the door as soon as she peeked through, blocking the view of the kitchen no matter how many angles she tried it from, the box prevented her curiosity.
However, he didn't let that stop her from continuing to investigate the house, so she finally made her way up to the second floor. She already checked out the guest rooms, so she went to see some of the rest of the rooms. Most of them were entertaining areas, a cinema room that had a big screen TV and speakers with several seats furnished, a small garden with a greenhouse, the only interesting thing being a big tree with blue leaves in the middle that almost brushed the ceiling, there were several pots and different seeds of her own choice around it, maybe she could cultivate something during her stay?
Hannah never got to see much natural vegetation in the city besides the moss in the corners or neglected walls and the occasional ornamental shrub, which seemed to be maintained by mana and automatic systems rather than being treated by hand. According to William, those plants had a fake charm which wasn't truly comparable to a plant personally taken care of by oneself.
After the greenhouse, she continued her self-guided tour, another playroom, a terrace with a false sky and which peculiarly had a gentle breeze, a minibar, where she noticed from far away through the door that every time she went in and out the alcoholic beverages changed with magic every time she placed a center foot, turning into juices and soft drinks. She was able to verify it by looking at the drink shelves, changing both their container and their contents every time she entered.
There also was the library, which she decided it would be her first next stop once the tour was done, and so she would investigate it thoroughly later.
In each room she entered and inspected, Hannah took some time in there playing and having a little fun per room, fiddling with whatever was there and keeping herself distracted.
Then she passed in front of a purple door, the very one that was specified to Hannah in the rules given by the Jester that she was not to enter... However, maybe it was the adrenaline and dopamine to be investigating each room, how much harm would it do to take a peek?
“...A small one, quick, if it's through the keyhole maybe nothing will happen,” she muttered to herself.
Unconsciously, it came to her mind as soon as she took the first step, the near-recent memory of the jester releasing his mana when he lost his temper when she asked something such as his name. That was a thought which sobered Hannah from her daydream of playing around, coming back to herself again.
If she wanted to stay in that house she had to follow those rules, although somewhat ambiguous, they were simple enough for her 11 year old head to understand. She didn't usually let herself go so easily from usual, was it because she had rested so much that she was feeling lively again?
She had to keep her head and attitude in check, tread lightly with her plans, it wasn't a playground, it was a house where a magical being, a powerful one clearly, seemed to call the shots. A chance to rebuild her life. Those were the words the Jester gave her before coming to the house, when she was about to die.
She couldn't waste her chance and throw it all away for the sake of a bit of curiosity.
Taking one step back and another, Hannah turned away from the purple door, and began to head for the library in a hurry. Big plans awaited her, yet she had to decide those very plans first.
The library was huge, and not only that, the wooden furniture there had subtle but elegant designs, padded with cushions for comfort, and a couple of small areas with sofas and armchairs to relax with other types of books.
The bookshelves were tall, and the diversity varied from preschool level books to titles that made the pink-haired girl's head dizzy.
'Quantum Theory & Sorcery', 'Theories of Mana Vein Evolution', 'Principles of Mana Flow', 'Energy, Mana and Parallel Dimensions', 'Entropy and the Magic of Chaos'... It all sounds so... complicated.
Hannah thought, taking the Principles of Mana Flow book in her hands, she knew that if she tried to study it now, she wouldn't understand a thing, but the idea of learning magic... It was something reserved for families and important members of society in the city. To learn magic, especially in Nexus City, was a privilege for the upper classes; if she learned on her own, or at least if she tried to and it worked, maybe -no, it would definitely help her in the future.
She already knew how to read and write thanks to her deceased hobo companion, even if she didn't do it very well, she had plenty of time to learn and improve in the library, so she would inadvertently end up improving in those aspects would be even more-...
Deceased.
The word interrupted her train of thought at once, reminding her the fact. William was dead. She had had enough time... no, not enough time to mourn the death of the only friend she had, she would have been headed for the same fate were it not for the jester.
The hunger, the thirst, lack of sleep, and her terrible state, barely left her time to think of William at the time, and the sudden events after meeting the jester left her too dazed to give her time to think of her friend. A wave of regret and guilt for taking so long to digest her comrade's absence washed over Hannah, who stood staring blankly at the floor, the book still in her hands as tears fell from her cheeks, slightly wetting the cover. And, finally, she broke into tears.
It took her an hour - perhaps longer - to regain her composure, and even then the tears were still falling from her eyes, her agitated breathing became quieter, and she realized that she had fallen to her knees on the floor. Rising to her feet, Hannah wiped away as best she could the tears with the sleeve of her jacket, and furiously began to grab books of a level she could handle.
She wasn't going to let William's efforts to help her be in vain. Hannah would live on, and when she managed to make her life brighter, she would carry William's memory with her.