Tsukiko sat, passed out and drooling, in a chair next to Lily's bed.

She woke up to find Claudia tugging on her sleeve.

"Huh?" Tsuki woke up in a daze. "What do you want?"

The redhead continued to tug.

"I'm not leaving…" Tsuki stayed planted in the seat.

Claudia pulled harder.

"Back off, Claudia…"

Claudia wrapped her arms around Tsuki and desperately tried to drag her out of the chair.

"What do you want?" Tsuki growled.

Tsukiko moved her right leg under Claudia to push her off. "Just let me be."

Claudia shook her head.

"What do you want then?"

A red piece of paper appeared in her face. "Get up."

Tsuki pushed it away.

Claudia waved it in her face.

"Why?" Tsuki slouched down.

More red papers entered her vision but she kept shoving them away. Tsuki stared at the room's dirty grey floor.

A scratchy, and weak voice spoke. "Lilith would not want to see you like this."

"Huh?" Tsuki looked up and the same redhead stood before her. "You can talk?"

Claudia nodded her head.

Tsuki sighed. "Why don't you talk then?"

Claudia shook her head this time.

"Why not?" Tsuki asked again.

Another red paper was shoved in Tsukiko's face.

"What's this? It's blank." Tsukiko narrowed her eyes.

The redhead looked at the paper then hid it behind her back before looking down and shaking her head again.

"Claudia…" Tsuki spoke softly.

Claudia spoke again, her voice hoarse and strained. "I have my reasons, miss."

"Alright, alright." Tsuki stood up. "I should be tough. She always said she wanted to be tough like me. She doesn’t want to wake up and see me all scared."

Claudia nodded with a smile on her face.

Tsuki turned back to see Claudia missing, a blank red slip of paper lying on the ground.

--

As Tsukiko stood up and opened the door, it led to a place she did not expect.

Before her sat Aurelia, at a table for two. They were in a mansion, lit only by the sun filtering through the windows.

Outside, in the far distance, was a tree with a bicycle. Beyond the tree was a vast green plain stretching out to a distant infinite horizon.

Tsuki stared out to the pastel coloured sky and the huge white puffy clouds. In the distance were scattered oak trees and flower beds.

"Sit down, Miss Himura." Aurelia smiled.

"Passing through all these doors is making me dizzy." Tsuki sat down in the chair.

Everything around her was an ornate relic of the past. An old phonograph, a wooden rotary telephone, drawers and a wardrobe, all made of dark oak wood.

The table itself was made of a dense wood. The chairs were almost uncomfortable with the amount of intricate carved designs. Clearly those things were more for looks than for use.

"Even a Knight needs to adjust to the doors." Aurelia's voice soothed her.

"Did I do something wrong?" Tsukiko kept her posture straight.

"No, of course not." Aurelia chuckled.

"Then why am I here?"

"Just to talk." Aurelia chuckled softly.

"Huh?"

Aurelia cleared her throat. "I would be lying if I said I had not planned all of this."

"Planned all of what?" Tsuki fidgeted.

"I knew you would enter my shop, just like Haruka did. I knew Sylvie would find those missing entries." Aurelia admitted.

"And?"

"I knew I had to make you stay here for a while. You have to slow down, Tsukiko." Aurelia spoke to her with a genuine worry in her voice.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Tsuki straightened out again. "Slow down? I'm nowhere near my goal."

"Your goal will come eventually." Aurelia’s worry grew.

"But…" Tsuki tried to argue but she couldn’t

"I opened the door to the mall so that you could be closer to Fumiko. I made Haruka bring that box out of the fire so you could learn to trust your friends." Aurelia’s words grew stranger.

"How did you--?"

"Wait until Lily wakes up. When she wakes, go and find the man who hurt her." Aurelia held up an instant photo before sliding it across the table.

"It's just a mask." Tsuki stared intently.

"Look closer." Aurelia poked the back of the photo.

Tsukiko noticed something that should’ve been obvious to her the first time. How she missed it was beyond her own understanding.

Across the mask was what appeared to be a gash, where the metal gleamed from under the black enamel. The exposed metal had been gilded with copper.

"I would know it better than anyone. Pride in one's appearance is a double edged sword." Aurelia grabbed the photo out of Tsuki's hand.

"This is…" Tsuki almost ignored Aurelia’s words.

"What is it?" Aurelia asked.

"Why did you give me this?" Tsuki narrowed her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"You just told me to slow down, why're you giving me this? Wouldn't keeping this from me make this longer?" Tsuki asked.

"You would never trust me if all I ever did was hold you back. I merely want to support you." Aurelia bowed her head.

"...the free clothes helped." Tsuki joked.

Aurelia shook her head. "Those are not just clothes."

"Then what are they?"

"That jacket of yours is your armor. It will protect you. I give you my word." Aurelia kept talking.

"It’s just a jacket, Aurelia." Tsuki smiled sarcastically.

"That is where you are wrong. These are no ordinary fabrics, dear. You should have noticed it earlier."

"What do you mean?"

"Are they comfortable?"

Tsuki sat in silence, confused by her line of questioning. Still, Aurelia made her think about her clothes for once. She did feel comfortable in them. Far more comfortable than she had expected.

The heels on her boots hadn’t tired her once. The jacket did not limit her movement. She could run, even in the skirt.

"Yeah, they are." Tsuki looked down at her Knight’s uniform.

"Do you understand?"

"What else is so special about these clothes?"

Aurelia chuckled. "You will learn that soon enough."

"Aurelia…"

"Have you ever seen a spy film?" Aurelia seemingly switched the subject out of nowhere.

Tsuki was even more confused now. "Uhhm, yeah, why?"

"Think of it like… your own special suit and tie. If that does not work for you, think of it as your own knight's regalia." Aurelia spoke as if she hadn’t seen a film in decades.

Tsukiko looked down at the sleeves. "Y'know, spies usually wear black. What's with the white and red?"

"The red represents love."

"And the white?" Tsuki raised her arm to show the colors of her sleeve.

"It looks good on you, right?" Aurelia smiled.

"Stop being so vague for once." Tsuki grew a bit frustrated.

Aurelia looked disappointed. "Colours can mean all sorts of things."

Tsuki shook her head. "Sorry."

"I like to think it's love and goodness." The blonde smiled again.

"Love and goodness…" Tsuki spoke to herself.

"I think deep down, you will do great things in that jacket, Tsukiko." Aurelia smiled.

Tsukiko smiled too. "Think or know?"

"Oh, you are too bright." Aurelia laughed.

There was a brief pause.

"Who is Claudia?" Tsuki spoke with the tone of an interrogation.

"The red haired girl in the black dress. You have met, haven't you?" Aurelia played dumb.

"No, I mean, what is she?" Tsuki asked again.

Aurelia looked out the window. "Hmmm. An old friend."

"She looks like a loyal maid." Tsuki tried to counter Aurelia.

Aurelia stared. "Everything Claudia does is of her own accord. I owe her for her eternal loyalty, but she is certainly not being forced to work."

A pale hand landed on Tsukiko's shoulder.

"Oh, Claudia, we were just discussing you." Aurelia's face brightened up.

Claudia stood next to the table, right between the both of them. She looked at Tsukiko closely.

"Why doesn't she speak?" Tsuki pointed at Claudia.

"She simply does not speak. Though, is that really the question you should be asking?" Aurelia pushed Tsuki along.

"Okay, how does she teleport?" Tsuki asked the first thing that came to mind.

"Teleport? You are asking the wrong person." Aurelia looked at Claudia.

"Okay, do you know anything about Claudia?" Tsuki kept her focus on Aurelia.

Aurelia looked at Claudia and Claudia looked back.

Aurelia looked back at Tsukiko. "Neither of us quite understand each other. We stick together regardless. It does not matter to me who or what she is."

Claudia nodded happily.

"Everything I ask just brings up more questions." Tsuki frowned.

"At my age, you understand that some things are beyond explanation." Aurelia chuckled.

"Hmm." Tsuki began to realize the futility of her questions.

"I have not the slightest idea who or what Claudia is. That does not stop me from respecting her and what she does." Aurelia spoke with a louder voice.

Claudia looked proud.

"Well, what can you explain?" Tsuki asked.

Aurelia chuckled. "It would take me several of your lifetimes to explain it all."

"Then, what are the doors?" Tsukiko scrambled for any questions she deemed important.

"Doors, obviously. They just lead to where you would not expect them to lead." Aurelia’s answer was unsatisfactory.

"Who were those people that I had to save?" Tsuki countered almost instantly.

"A doctor, and a girl with tragedy in her past." Aurelia replied in kind.

Tsuki put her hand on the table as she stood up. "Do you know who stabbed Fumi?"

Aurelia paused for a moment. "No, I do not."

"How did Lily survive the fire?" Tsuki blurted out one last question.

Aurelia motioned for Tsukiko to sit back down. Tsuki didn’t expect a real answer.

"Miss Guillemot is not a regular child, Tsukiko." Aurelia began.

"What does that mean?" Tsuki lowered herself back down to the chair.

"Her family was wealthy for a reason, you know. The Guillemot family is legendary in certain circles." Aurelia said.

Aurelia’s answers always brought more questions.

"Just tell me." Tsuki spoke a bit rudely.

"Lily has great potential, a potential that I cannot explain." Aurelia smiled.

"What kind?"

"Let us just call it… magical."

"Oh…" Tsuki trailed off.

"Lilith told you that she wanted to be as strong as you are. Seeing her here, I know that she may reach that goal some day." Aurelia spoke with great confidence.

Tsuki leaned forward. "Wait, how did you know she said that?"

"She told me." Aurelia smiled.