Rebbecca ascended the creaking stairs, her footsteps echoing softly in the narrow hallway. Dust motes danced in the faint light filtering through the boarded-up windows, lending an eerie quality to the atmosphere. As she reached the end of the hallway, she spotted her room and approached it with cautious steps.
"Oh...this room, huh?" she mused with a nervous giggle, her fingers curling around the worn doorknob. With a gentle push, she entered the dimly lit space. The air felt heavy with anticipation as she surveyed the room, noting its simplicity. Her gaze lingered on the bed, its size offering a promise of comfort amidst the looming uncertainty.
With a sigh of relief, Rebbecca closed the door behind her, the soft click of the lock echoing in the silence. However, her moment of solitude was short-lived as her eyes darted to the figure standing in the shadows. There, against the barren wall, stood the Witch Queen, her presence casting a palpable tension in the room.
"You do know your time is almost up, right?" the Witch Queen's voice dripped with arrogance, drawing an irritated sigh from Rebbecca.
"Not until I reach the asylum—" Rebbecca began, only to be cut off by the Witch Queen's interjection.
"You mean 'us'," the Witch Queen interrupted, her tone laced with condescension. Rebbecca's glare intensified, her jaw clenched in frustration as the Witch Queen continued her slow, deliberate pacing around the cramped room.
"But..." the Witch Queen's voice trailed off, her movements fluid as she swayed her hips, drawing Rebbecca's gaze like a moth to flame. "That girl has everything we've done and did in that book. I know you know this. Before we enter that place, that book has to go, or her..."
The Witch Queen's words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken implications. Rebbecca's breath caught in her throat, her eyes locking with the deep purple pools of the Witch Queen's gaze. In that moment, the abyssal depths of their stares seemed to merge, the weight of their shared history bearing down on them like a suffocating blanket.
Witch Queen sighed heavily, her frustration palpable in the dimly lit room. "I can see you're ready to kill her now, however..." Her words trailed off as she continued to circle Rebbecca with an amused chuckle, her movements fluid and graceful. Blood Queen's eyes tracked her every step, a mixture of wariness and curiosity in her gaze.
"I too want to utterly destroy her soul and spirit, but right now we can't," Witch Queen confessed, her tone shifting to one of reluctant acceptance. "The little one likes her too much... and she's just too cute to make her mad! And the girl can be useful to us," she added with a hint of playfulness, her voice taking on a cutesy tone that clashed with the sinister undertones of their conversation.
Rebbecca rolled her eyes in response, her patience wearing thin as she perched herself on the edge of the bed, her posture exuding a mixture of Annoyance and resignation. Witch Queen couldn't help but smile mischievously, lifting her arms and placing her hands delicately on her cheeks in a mockingly innocent pose.
"Now, I can easily take control from you, as your grip isn't as tight as before," Witch Queen remarked, her expression morphing into one of curious amusement. "However, I want to hear why you want to wait until we arrive at the place."
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Blood Queen sighed deeply, her annoyance evident as she locked eyes with Witch Queen. "Felona and that old man proved my suspicions to be right. There's something going on behind the scenes for dear father to ever 'want' me at an asylum," she explained, her voice tinged with a sense of foreboding. "If this goes as intended... I'm pretty sure you know what that means, yes?"
With a slow, deliberate movement, Blood Queen rose from her seat, placing a hand on her waist as she began to circle Witch Queen with a predatory smile playing on her lips. "So, I can simply 'play along' for now," she continued, her gaze never wavering. "You, on the other hand, are becoming too attached. Not only that..." She trailed off, her smile widening into a knowing grin that made Witch Queen click her tongue in annoyance, a flicker of uncertainty crossing her features.
"You may be right that things can get worse if their plan to have us stay perpetually unfolds," Witch Queen mused, her voice a melodic hum that echoed in the confined space. "But at the same time... they'll think you won't notice them trying to break down that little cage we made. How can I make it clear? Their minds are a joke to us."
Blood Queen remained silent, her gaze fixed on Witch Queen with a stoic intensity. "I'm not worried about them finding anything," she finally spoke, her voice carrying a hint of weariness.
"I'm more worried about us being a part of a possible war, Witch Queen. Not that I would ever get hurt, mind you..." Her words trailed off as she reclined into the mattress, a flicker of pride crossing her features.
"If things get too 'hands-on', then there will be problems from the both of us, including the little one," Blood Queen continued, her tone tinged with irritation. "Now, if you'd excuse me, I must sleep. Shu shu!" Her command was delivered with a dismissive wave of her hand, her arms crossed in defiance.
Witch Queen rolled her eyes in response, a smirk playing on her lips. "Pfft, whatever," she muttered, her form dissipating like a phantom as she walked away, her voice fading into the shadows.
Alone at last, Blood Queen couldn't help but smile, a sense of relief washing over her. "Finally," she breathed, her excitement bubbling to the surface as her expression softened.
Just then, Felona entered the room, her exhaustion evident in the weary lines of her face. Despite her weariness, she forced a smile, her presence a welcome interruption in the oppressive silence of the room.
***
Before Felona escaped from the garden, she was questioned on something she thought only she knew about, her knowledge on Mandrakes.
"How you know what a Mandrake is? A Country Bumpkin like you knows a rare type of human, how?" Charles asked as he leaned back, Mira on the other hand smiled as her eyes bared holes in the back of Felona's head. 'Shit! This is bad...' she thought to herself. Her mind raced as she tried to formulate a believable lie, her instincts warning her of the dangers posed by the mandrake's presence. She took a deep breath and forced a smile, her expression remaining outwardly calm despite the panic bubbling.
"Working under such a powerful family such as the Smirda's...your bound to meet the common and uncommon...is that such a bad thing? Charles? And I know what one would look like simply because I used to work with one before she became an Excommunicado to the Smirda's, she told me many things about her kind." She said with a slight head tilt. Charles chuckled with a snare, she answered immediately a loophole he was about to put heavy pressure on...interesting.
"Ah...so, she was an exile from the Smirda's. Well...that explains why I never heard of her." Charles said. "I don't know a single Mandrake working under the Smirda's, or a name...not like they would make them public to begin with...so" Charles hummed, taking a sip from his drink. Felona stared at both Mira and Charles before bowing to leave.
However Mira spoke up, "So...what happened to your friend? You say 'Excommunicado'? Did they find out something she shouldn't?" Mira asked with a smirk, her voice laced with curiosity and amusement. Felona however answered it with ferver "It doesn't matter what happened to her, all that matters is that her name was erased and she was cast out from the Smirda's, she deserved it for what ever she did-it's not my position to know the inner workings of the family, I'm a simple maid for my mistress. Now, if you could both please allow me to leave and tend to that said mistress, thank you." She said as she walked away, leaving the two alone in the garden.
Once she was out of the garden, she was about to head towards her room when she noticed she didn't get to discuss which room was which. "Shoot...I don't want to barge into something freaking weird again...." She said as she sighed. The only thing she could do now was open the 3 doors one by one, with a smile on her face.
"Wait, don't she still have blood on her dress?" She thought as she stopped. "I might as well throw that away...but we have no change of clothes...sigh and I don't want to ask the 'oh so nice' Charles for anything after that...so, but then again...we have to leave immediately now anyway" She said to herself.
She went to the on the far left and knocked on it, nothing. She walked to the one in the middle and knocked, no answer. She moved on to the one on the right and knocked. But heard nothing, she got a little worried but was to tired to even think about possible what if's, so she barged in the room where Rebbecca sat on the bed, smiling widely.