"What're you goin' to do with that?" The female voice said.
A sword unsheathed behind him. Peter ripped the flower from its place. Then he rolled to the side. A sharp pain shot up from his ankles. He ignored it. A giant slash of air cracked the wall that was in front of him.
The female voice clicked her tongue.
"Do you have prophetic vision?" A step.
"Good instincts?" Another step.
Her voice lowered. "'re you a contractor?" The step came right behind him.
Contractor, what the hell is that?
Using his arms, Peter threw himself on his feet. Vixel stood right in front of him.
HOW!? Peter flinched backwards.
"Hey, 'nswer me." Her eyes narrowed.
Peter's mouth wouldn't open.
Before he realized, Peter had slammed against the wall behind him with a kick.
A gust of wind escaped his lungs. Peter's spine felt completely crushed.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! I'm going to die. She's going to kill me. His heart sank.
I'll be forgotten.
Vixel grabbed his face.
"Next attack will be the last."
Peter mumbled some words. They weren't comprehensible, even for him
She sighed. "Ariel should've selected better friends." She raised her longsword.
Peter covered his face with his arms. His eyes watered.
"We're poisoned!" He shouted.
The statement hung in the air for a moment.
"Huh?" She muttered. "Explain. Now." She lowered her sword.
"We went to the-the Archive to get a, uh info on the Golden City in-"
Vixel clacked her teeth. She stared at her hands. "I told him multiple times to drop it." She muttered.
Then she stared back at Peter. "Did I tell you to stop?"
"Oh, uh... Then a group of... assassins came and slashed with, uh, poison."
"Something that bastard would do. And Ariel was weaker than normal." She bit her finger.
She sighed. And then extended her hand.
"You really 're a crybaby. Get up."
Peter did as he was told. His back burned. His ankle sent sharp pain through his body. But the presence of Vixel silenced all of it.
Vixel grabbed Peter by the wrist. In an instant they were in the Great Hall. The banters and the ceramic bowls clashing returned.
Peter looked around, confused.
Can she teleport?
Vixel stepped onto a table. "Listen!"
The guests turned to her. She pointed at Peter.
"The mage showed her 'bilities with a small show!"
"Clap for her." She ordered.
They enthusiastically clapped their hands. Gerald clapped his hands a beat later. She appeared near Ariel, who had sat back near Gerald.
Peter started breathing again.
He sat down and wrapped his hands around his legs.
A beast.
I survived a beast.
They better write stories about me! Ha-ha... ha.
After a second someone nudged him.
"Peter?" Amy said.
Peter turned towards Amy. She was kneeling beside him with her orb on the side.
"Uh?" He shook his head. "I got the flower!" He raised the moon's heart with a smile.
Amy petted his head. Her hands were warm, too warm.
Peter's eyes widened. "What?" He uttered.
Amy withdrew her hand. "You reminded me of someone."
A beat.
Handing the flower, Peter shifted his eyes to nothing.
"The anti-something-"
"Antidote." She said.
"Yeah that. Ariel looks worse. You have to be quick." He said
Amy grabbed the flower, got up and extended her hand. Peter tried to get up as well, ignoring her hand. A sharp pain echoed through his body. With Vixel being far away, Peter's body had stopped being in the 'fight or flight' state.
Amy sighed. "Luckily, this is the flower that is used in the healing ointment." She grabbed his hand and wrapped his arm around her neck, guiding him to a seat. She dropped him on the chair.
"I will be right back." She said
Then she went away, Peter didn't see where she went.
He scanned the room.
The scent of meat and vanilla returned. He tried to cover his ears but the sound still seeped in. Looking at the ceiling, Peter counted the chandeliers. One, two... ten.
Must've been very expensive.
He grabbed his small notebook and wrote down about his story, from the streets of the city to this very moment. The charcoal pen felt rough in his hands. After a minute he put the last dot. Then his eyes shifted towards the table. A plate of dome with pherax flowers sprinkled on top stood there.
This should be the dessert butlers talked about.
Reaching for a snownut oil, he opened the cap and drizzled on top of the dessert. It instantly changed colors from pure white to purple. Peter stopped for a second.
The snownuts are used as a poison as well right? He sighed.
He pushed the plate away. His appetite had diminished. His eyes shifted to Ariel. Amy stood next to him. She handed him a cup of a purple-red liquid then walked towards Peter. She was wobbling like Ariel.
Handing over a cup of that red-purple liquid, she spoke.
"Drink."
"You don't look okay." Peter said.
"It takes time for the antidote to heal." She answered.
Peter asked no further questions and drank the liquid. It tasted like an orange flavored antimicrobial drug. He wanted to puke it at first. Covering his mouth he forced himself to swallow it.
Amy chuckled faintly.
"It tastes terrible, no?"
"It does..." Peter wiped his mouth. "What do we do now?"
"I talked w-" Before she could finish her sentence a duchess with long, purple hair and a red dress jumped on top of her.
"Empress!" She said.
Peter froze. Amy wobbled from side to side trying to re-balance herself. The guests nearby turned towards them.
"Get off!" Amy said.
The duchess unclasped her hands. "Sorry, sorry..." She scratched her head.
"Didn't I tell you to not call me that!?" Amy frowned.
The duchess just smiled in return.
"Empress?" Peter repeated.
The duchess bowed down "I'm Leonnastranor Waterfelt of Gersiw you can call me Leonna!"
Peter nodded.
Amy continued. "Her family started in Atwia then spread to neighboring kingdoms, most of them are still loyal to The Empire."
"So what happened?" Peter asked.
"Infighting tore them apart!" Leonna said, pointing to the sky, or rather the ceiling, with a smile.
A second passed. She kept pointing to the sky.
Her eyes snapped to the desserts nearby. "This one has my colors!" She pointed at the pherax dessert. She pulled a chair and started eating it with a fork.
"She does not change." Amy whispered to herself.
The guests turned towards their seats.
Peter leaned towards Amy. "What's written in the document?" He whispered.
She whispered back. "Ariel was right, the event was fabricated to exile the half-humans. It also notes some kind of explosion in the Crimson Forest years later, shortly after that the cult rumors started."
Peter rubbed his chin.
"So, what do we do with that?" He stared at her.
"Ariel wants to see the reactions of other nobles." She said.
"We are never getting that prize." Peter laughed.
***
Gerald slammed his hand on the table. The nobles nearby turned to him. He instantly changed his face from a frown to a smile.
They are still alive. WHY are they still alive? If the royalty learns about the event, it is over for Varsia.
He bit the inside of his mouth. His eyes shifted to Ariel.
Understand, Ariel. The former king did what he must've done. Why must you insist on skullduggery?
He sighed.
At this point, it is worthless to continue scheming against Ariel. I have to prepare for an internal war. He kept staring at Ariel.
He is still a huge threat. I have to exile him somehow. Closing his eyes, he took a breath.
Tyranny doesn't matter anymore. Any reason to exile him is enough.
The guests had finished their plates and the bards played their instruments with less enthusiasm. Gerald rose from his seat.
"Guests!" They turned to him. "We had a wonderful night. But now it shall end."
Rising from their seats, the guests bowed to Gerald one by one and left the building. The morning star became visible from the Great Hall. The smell of vanilla and meat had vanished.
Gerald bid farewell to the last guest. Then he turned to the empty hall.
"Any reason is enough." He repeated.