The guide Iris sank comfortably into this fragrant source of warmth. She snuggled close to the softness she had never experienced. It felt so familiar, so irresistible. Her lips curved into a smile, and her heart raced at the thought of remaining here forever.
The murmuring in the background, along with the nightly sounds of the rustling leaves, the swaying lanterns, and the chattering humans, blurred into a sameness she dismissed. She could only remember the warmth and the tickles of the fabric grazing her body.
Despite how unnatural it was, Iris refused to contemplate her situation. She focused on this moment, chasing away everything unnecessary.
“Goodnight, Iris,” a lovely voice rang. “Sweet dreams.”
Iris shivered. She opened her eyes into Alice’s most delightful smile, as Alice was placing her down to a bed.
“Where . . . am I?” Iris said. “How did I get here?”
“Would you like me to whisper you what happened?”
Blushing, Iris shook her head. “I . . . remembered now. I fell asleep while listening to your tales. And I took advantage of your kindness. Please forgive me.”
“It must’ve been a long day.”
“I’ve ruined your outing, Alice.”
“Worry not. It’s my pleasure to accept your trust. We’ve become that intimate, haven’t we?”
“Will you . . . be visiting again?”
Alice gave a bright, knowing smile but returned no definitive answer. Her maid arrived by her side and whispered something. She lightly nodded before placing her hand on her guide’s chest.
“Whenever you feel lonely, simply think of me, and write a letter to this address.” Alice chuckled. “Or you may deliver yourself to it, if you wish to join me.”
Like a song, Alice’s tone stirred Iris’s heart. She could accept that arrangement and enjoyed the bliss incomparable.
She took the business card in her client’s hand. A small sapphire embedded on its sleek surface shimmered under her touch. It was cool to touch, and she playfully caressed it.
“Please don’t wait for me. I’m . . . always indecisive.”
“There will always be a place for you, Iris.” Alice drew back her hand. “Keep the bracelet by your side. It will protect you until I arrive.”
Iris blinked. A purplish bracelet rested on her abdomen, coiling cutely like a tiny snake. She held it and paused when it slithered along her palm. It adjusted itself to fit her wrist comfortably.
Alice touched her lips and blew a kiss at her guide. She allowed her maid to take her hand and lead her out of this lodging.
Iris quietly waited until the door was closed and the footsteps faded. She then got up from her bed, went to the dressing mirror, and admired the bracelet on her wrist. She giggled as she stroked it, feeling a mysterious connection between her and its owner.
Exhaustion soon took over. She changed her clothing but refused to take off her necklace and bracelet. They never disturbed her sleep nor hurt her delicate skin.
It felt like her lady was by her side.
…
“You’re staring too intensely, Antina.” The Monster Girl Iris leaned on the carriage’s seat,
“I’m waiting, Mistress.”
“In anticipation to what?”
“To hear the end of your tale.”
“It may not be an agreeable ending.”
“Anything you bring up is worth heeding.” Antina solemnly lowered her head. “And everything about you is worth accepting.”
“There is nothing mystical about this little event. I merely gave up what is due, nothing more, nothing less.”
“Am I so foolish and inattentive, that I wouldn’t know what my lover is like?”
Iris lightly coughed. Her eyes shifted between her maid’s earnest expression and her shifting posture. “You’ve become quite rebellious lately.”
“Someone taught me.”
Iris shook her head. “The story isn’t something satisfying. My mentor died saving me, teaching me the most valuable lesson. I owed much of my achievements to her teaching.”
“What would such an important lesson be?”
“There is no price too great for a dream.”
Antina held her mistress’s hands. They were cold. “There should be. I, and my others, do not want harm to befall you.”
“I’m not a masochist, Antina, although my manner may suggest otherwise.”
“You can’t evade this with a flirt, Mistress. Please consider our dream when making a choice for yours.”
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
“Have I ever dismissed yours?”
Stubbornness was her mistress’s charm as well as vice. Antina stayed quiet while holding her mistress’s hands, letting her warmth seep into those palms, hoping it might melt that icy, willful heart.
But she had to let go, for guilt kept building inside her. She looked at the curtained window, at the sparse street devoid of pedestrians. The night had cloaked this world, maintaining a silent order imposed upon nature and mortals.
“Mistress, why did you . . . reveal your past?” she said.
“What do you think about her?”
“I’ve never once suspected your vision, Mistress, but mere knowledge of your origin will put her in danger.” Antina raised her hand and curled it into a fist. “A danger much deadlier than the current one.”
Iris reached for that fist and carefully pried it open. “In those divined dreams, the Evil Cults repeatedly failed to capture her. The mechanics of chances thwarted their plans, distracted their leaders, and let this failure slip through the gaps.”
“But she has no special bloodline nor talent . . . except for her semblance to you, Mistress.” Antina seized her mistress’s hands, her eyes brightening. “Have you finally found a great ally?”
“If I had an ally who could influence Fate itself, The Court wouldn’t have suffered this much.”
“Please don’t keep me in suspense.”
“Someone’s protecting her, and I believe it’s related to her semblance of me. I’m merely testing a hypothesis.”
“How can you be so reckless?”
“I’ve heard those words too many times that they’ve lost their meanings.”
“If the power that be wishes you harm, this taboo will bring insurmountable peril. Even all of us cannot guarantee your safe escape.”
Iris frowned. “You’d still sacrifice yourself, even though you know it’s meaningless?”
“Love has never been logical, has it?”
Iris shook her head before she reached for her maid and kissed her. Only until she could soak in her maid’s aroma did she let go, bearing a tender smile on her satisfied face. Her fingers brushed her lips, wiping the mellifluous saliva.
Antina shifted away. She looked into her mistress’s unblinking eyes while licking her lips. Her gaze lost the fight and moved away; thoughts constructed in her heart toppled under this devilish ambush.
“What have I done?” Antina said.
“Because I feel like it?” Iris coyly tapped her cheek. “You can have your revenge.”
Antina couldn’t refuse it, but she couldn’t accept it either. “You must tell me the reason. I won’t accept silence for the answer.”
Not when they promised.
“The bet I made is never made with reckless abandon, not when it concerns your safety.” Iris pointed at her heart. A faint, indescribable mark manifested and then dispersed the next instant. “There are only a few capable and daring enough to go against the world. What I told my Iris is not only for her, but also for that being.”
Antina stayed silent. If she pressed on, her mistress would divulge everything. She would whisper secrets weighing on her and free herself, even if briefly, from the burden of solitude. There was nothing better than this.
Yet this opportunity passed untouched. Iris too drowned herself in the buzzing quietude, a background for her thoughts to saunter, run, and explore her uncertain future.
Antina couldn’t understand why she deprived herself of this chance. Her mistress’s eyes burned themselves into her heart, their ashes scattering throughout her chest. Although minuscule the flickers that refused to disappear lingered in that gaze, in that pitiful, feeble gaze.
It swayed her, blinded her. How could she go against her mistress?
“That kiss,” she said. “Did you do something to me, Mistress?”
Iris bashfully looked away. “Should I have not?”
“You’re evil, Mistress. You’re an enchantress, an enchantress who has charmed me.”
“I satisfied your desire, yet you still felt it inadequate?”
“You cannot escape me forever.”
“Just long enough, is enough.”
Antina puffed. Her attention shifted from her mistress to a group of annoying people trailing the carriage. Like buzzing flies they persisted around her throughout the conversation, but her mistress demanded more attention than she could spare for these weaklings.
“Don’t hurt them too much,” Iris said. “And be careful. Their leader . . .”
Iris’s voice tapered off as she closed her eyes, regulating her breaths. The confused Antina didn’t question her mistress. She stood up. A mirage of a feminine hand of darkness appeared behind her. Its slender fingers closed in, dissolving her into the blackness of the night.
The carriage gradually decelerated. Muffled implosions and flashy lights lingered around Iris. Her hair lightly shifted with the rocking motion, yet she herself was motionless.
She opened her eyes when her maid knocked on the door. The unknown group of people now kept before her, bound by tangible claws growing from their own shadows. The thorns constricting their bodies prevented their heads from rising to meet hers; doing so would make them bleed.
Aside from those subdued, two people stood in opposition to Antina. A purple-haired Elf held a pure-white staff with a mysterious multi-coloured gem embedded in it. Her river-like hair flowed from her head to her shoulders, splitting into branches reaching her waist. Her celestial violet eyes dazzled the world and, more importantly, stunned Antina.
Another Elf, orange-haired and crimson-eyed, raised her exquisite sword at Antina while positioning herself before her mistress. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the master behind the terrifying maid. Although cladded in her knightly uniform, she felt naked before this impossible maiden.
Antina retrieved her power and returned to her mistress’s side. The apparent confusion in her eyes endured. “I . . . don’t know what to do with her, Mistress.”
“You don’t have to do anything. She’s already given up.” Iris flicked her right hand. A black handheld fan manifested in her grip. She covered her face with its thinly laced fabric. “Is there still a need to struggle?”
Despite trembling, the knight readied her grip. She stepped forth, but her mistress raised her hand to block the path. The knight finally stayed put after she turned to her mistress, who gave her a confident yet wry smile.
The purple-haired Elf lowered her staff. She took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts, and walked to her captor. Once she arrived in front of Iris, passing Antina who observed her every moment, she gracefully curtseyed. Her movement revealed grace accumulated through practices and upbringing, unerasable by the external world.
She did not raise her head. Her body remained unmoved, awaiting permission from the lady who controlled her fate.
The captured Elves mumbled to themselves. Some exerted themselves to break free from the shadowy vines and claws, but none succeeded. A few shouted for their leader’s attention, telling her to abandon them, telling her to regain her calm.
An Elf insulted Iris. Words that left her lips faltered in the air, which became solid, suffocating her chest, crushing her throat. The claws restricting her movement now tore into her flesh, cutting apart her fair skin. She could not scream before she passed out. Her heaving body gradually sank into her devouring shadow.
“Please have mercy!” The purple-haired Elf tensed, yet she did not move. “My subordinates are foolish; their words shouldn’t be taken seriously by you.”
Antina hmphed. “Mistress is magnanimous, but I am not.”
“Punish me if necessary. I, as their leader, have failed to control them.”
“Let’s us not treat our guests too harshly, Antina,” Iris said. “You may raise, Miss.”
Antina pouted. The shadow spat out the unconscious Elf, but the claws binding her increased in quantity. Neither Iris nor the purple-haired Elf said anything about it.
“Please forgive my impropriety. My name is Elanor Valerian.” Elanor couldn’t take her eyes off Iris. “I have no excuse for trailing your carriage. And I also wish to impose you with our impolite introduction.”
“But a different question comes up.”
Elanor slowly nodded. “Why . . . do we look alike?”