Nathaniel found himself pressing himself deeper into his chair, hoping that he could, somehow, melt into the leather and be away from Erebus. But he was a king. He could simply order Erebus to be gone... yet, some deep, internal instinct warned him against that decision.

“A discussion?” Nathaniel finally managed to say, resisting the urge to tear his gaze away from Erebus’ intense stare.

“Are you hard of hearing?” Erebus laughed lightly, not caring that he was insulting a king in the slightest.

Nathaniel cleared his throat. “No--I...” Why did he feel the compulsion to explain himself to this man? He straightened his back; he wasn’t acting befitting of a king. A monarch. An esteemed being! “Tell me, what is it that you wanted?” he spoke with an air of disinterest.

Erebus tilted his chin up, a slow smirk spreading across his face. “No, it’s more of a matter of what you want.”

“Oh?”

“Adelia,” Erebus began, snorting as if he found the name funny, “will never be impressed by you.”

Nathaniel’s hands tightened into fists, but he kept his face blank. He didn’t answer because every possible one that came to his head sounded stupid and desperate. "Of course, she would!" he wanted to shout back at Erebus. He was a king--he was what people dreamed of becoming. But was that enough for Adelia? No, it wasn’t. Nathaniel knew that.

“No matter how much you love her... chase after her, you’ll always be engulfed by her shadow. That saddens you, doesn’t it?” Erebus looked around the office (it was full of unnecessary splendor, similar to the rest of the castle), his expression amused. “You have power, money, looks--yet you have nothing. Not what you truly want, at least.”

“And what do you think that I ‘truly’ want?” Nathaniel shifted in his seat, a cold sweat starting. It was no good. Faced by Erebus, all of his years of training went out the window and he was a powerless child once more.

“Enough strength to take what’s rightfully yours, no?” Erebus questioned, slowly outstretching his hand. “I’ll give it to you. Everything that you want, that is.”

Nathaniel found himself enthralled by that outreached hand. His eyes trailed up to Erebus’ face, quickly darting around and trying to discern his expression. What was it? Was that smile kind or mocking? Erebus’ other eye, if it was revealed--Nathaniel was sure it would be glowing just as brightly as this one. Crimson. The color of blood. His blood? If he accepted Erebus’ offer, what would happen? Nathaniel found the strength to ask, “At what cost?”

Erebus’ expression didn’t change or falter. “I wonder...” he answered vaguely. “I do believe in equal payment, after all.”

Nathaniel, much to his own surprise, found himself slowly lifting his hand--reaching towards Erebus. A voice, however, cut him off abruptly.

What do you think that you’re doing!

Nathaniel gasped at the sudden strike of pain, his hand instantly pressing against his temples. “No... I...”

Erebus’ eyebrow rose, but he said nothing. Instead, he silently watched Nathaniel’s face contort in obvious pain. Needless to say, he had no intention of inquiring as to what was wrong or helping Nathaniel.

“I didn’t mean...”

Send that man away! Immediately. You will honor your deal with us or else you will not be the only way to pay!

He swallowed dryly, the feeling of pins slowly being jammed into his skull intensifying. It was going to kill him--that’s how Nathaniel felt. “Leave,” he instructed Erebus.

Erebus’ arm dropped back to his side. “So be it,” he said, voice devoid of any telling emotion. Likewise, his face was an unreadable slate. Erebus exhaled inwardly and spun on his heels, exiting the room without another word.

He quietly shut the door behind him and hurriedly began walking away from Nathaniel’s study.

The moment that Erebus was by himself once more, with no other presences nearby, he let out a deep, soulful sigh.

That was a close one.

The idiot almost accepted his offer and Erebus would’ve been forced to help him. Even if it was a weak human, Erebus would never betray his word. He sighed once again, thinking about how annoying it would have been. And he would’ve had to have given up Mae, who had been an outstanding plaything.

But anyway, his suspicions had been confirmed. It had taken too long, though. There was something else going on. Nathaniel had sent him out before Erebus was able to get the full picture. Of course, he could have stayed longer, but he didn’t want to raise Nathaniel’s suspicions towards him too much.

Well, that said, extending that offer to him had probably piqued the idiot’s curiosity (note: greed).

“Hmm...” Erebus hummed to himself as he walked down the halls, no clear destination in mind. It was interesting enough to keep him entertained for a while.

He wondered if Mae was aware by now. She should have been, it’d be a great disappoint if she wasn’t. Mae was always perceptive, even if she didn’t know exactly what was happening. It would be almost funny watching her skirting around the issue, not wanting to embarrass herself in front of Erebus if she had misunderstood.

It had happened before.

More than once, actually. It was always amusing to see her splutter.

Hah. Good times.

Erebus crossed his arms behind his head as he walked, whistling softly. He wondered who was involved. He could investigate more if he wanted to, but it wouldn’t be nearly as fun as being surprised. At the same time, he always did loathe surprises. He was the type of person who preferred to know the ending of the book before reading it.

Not that it mattered. The only way he would be able to find out the full story was by prying into Nathaniel’s mind... which was both too much work and a nuisance.

Still, he had a decision to make: stay on the frontlines or watch it all unfold from the rearguard? Both had their own merits, obviously.

Ah!

It was such a difficult decision for him to make.

But, well, that pained and terrified expression that had been on Nathaniel’s face… it made Erebus want to stir up even more trouble.

Exactly how much?

Humans were such fun toys, but they broke easily, so he’d have to be careful. But Mae, she had always been durable. That also meant that he’d have to do a little more than necessary to really get her going.

That gave him an idea. A splendid one really. Who knew that this trip was going to be so much fun?

Ah, the joys to come.

…

Mae felt a shiver violently pass through her. It felt as if the universe was warning her against something.

What a bad feeling. And a familiar one.

Yeah, Erebus was definitely planning something.

She sighed, pushing her hair behind her ear and taking a few puffs from her pipe. She looked up at the sky, at the stars, and prayed for them to tell her what they knew; she preferred to not be overtaken by whatever Erebus was about to do.

It made the hair on her arms raise.

Her beautiful view of the night sky was soon replaced by the silhouette of a person. More specifically, Tear. The High Human’s nose was pinched and she seemed to be upset about some (probably irrelevant) matter.

Mae resisted the urge to groan. Tear and she had never really spoken to each other, but she was used to feeling the other woman’s hateful gaze focused on her at all times.

“What did you do to Xaltiq?” Tear questioned, crossing her arms and spreading her legs shoulder-width apart.

Mae rolled her eyes inwardly. “Does it matter? He’s fine, is he not? Now move it.”

Tear did not listen. Not like Mae had expected her to anyway. “He’s Lord Erebus’ precious plaything. I won’t forgive him if you mess him up.”

“You… aren’t you just trying to start a fight?”

“Hmph. Does it matter?”

“‘Suppose not. Considering we both know who’d win.” In Mae’s eyes, Tear was just another weakling. Even amongst Erebus’ outrageous subordinates, Tear was lackluster. Not much better than Xaltiq, really.

“You are incorrect if you think that you’re stronger than me.”

Mae snorted. “What hubris.”

“My love for Erebus transcends all.” Tear upturned her nose, glaring downwards at Mae. It was a look that said know-your-place-scum. “That’s why you are nothing.”

“Heh…” She emptied her pipe, wearing a dull smile. “Do you hate me or something?”

Tear didn’t hesitate to answer, “I hate you--who clings to Lord Erebus--more than anything else.”

“I see.” Mae wasn’t surprised by her reasoning. Tear was unreasonably obsessed with Erebus, after all. Nonetheless, Mae wasn’t bothered or concerned by Tear’s hatred for her. No, if anything, it was a nuisance having this little fly buzzing around. “But there’s something that you need to understand also.”

Tear’s groomed eyebrow rose. “Yeah?”

Mae stood, not liking that the other woman was looking down on her. After all, she was the superior one here. “There’s nobody who loves Erebus more than I do. Your paltry obsession is nothing in comparison.”

The High Human did not speak for a few moments, her brows pushing together and mouth parting slightly. “L… val.”

“What?”

“Love… rival?”

“Huh?”

“You are my love rival!” Tear shrieked, her face contorting into something horrendous and chest heaving. She jabbed an accusatory finger in Mae’s face,

Mae’s expression twisted into one of annoyance. “Rival? First of all, there’s no competition. Secondly, I don’t--” She paused. Why was she trying to defend herself? But would Tear (wrongly) thinking that she was a love rival make Mae’s life even more difficult? Definitely. “When I say love, I mean this in a completely platonic sense. You fool.”

Tear snarled. “That’s just what a love rival would say to make me put my guard down. But I will not be fooled!” She made a sound of indignance in the back of her throat. “Why, I knew I was right not trusting you. But your tactics will not work on me.”

She dramatically turned on her heels then, storming back inside of the castle, reminiscent of a child throwing a tantrum.

Immediately, Mae felt irritated.

What a tiresome woman!

She couldn’t comprehend how Erebus managed to deal with his subordinates. They were all too much of something (naturally, she was perfect--according to her own standards, at least).

Mae shook her head and stood up, heading back inside to go to her room. She needed time to think--without being disturbed.

There were a lot of things that she was thinking about currently. She wondered for a short while if Tear was going to go out of her way to bother her, then she realized that she did not actually care if Tear did so.

A bug was a bug. No matter how loud it tried to be.

So, Tear was promptly pushed to the back of Mae’s thoughts and another issue was brought forward.

Mae still felt eyes on her. Somebody was constantly watching her. Of course, the biggest question was who?

In all honesty, she wanted to play with her observer some. But when she thought about it, it was a better idea to bring it up to Erebus first before going ahead and ruining it.

Well, that was going to be a headache. Erebus wasn’t the type to show his hand easily. He’d probably act ignorant (or irritatingly vague) to it so that he could see what Mae did about it. That’s just the type of person that he was. That said, it wasn’t like she knew what exactly he was going to do. Most of the time, he was uninvolved, but as of late, he had grown more active.

A headache was already starting.

Erebus, Mae called. She was mentally prepared for whatever he tried to throw at her.

What?

Even through telepathy, it was easy to tell that he wasn’t pleased to hear from her.

May we speak?

About? Where are you?

No, it’s better to converse this way.

Oh? His interest was piqued.

I believe that somebody is watching me, she explained.

There was a long pause before Erebus answered her, Interesting.

Mae shook her head, running a hand through her hair in exasperation. Even though Erebus couldn’t see the action, her tone surely conveyed it. You knew already, didn’t you?

A laugh. Who knows? Do as you see fit. I won’t stop you.

Mae resisted the urge to snort. It wasn’t a matter of stopping her, Mae (at least, she thought she did) knew of restraint.

Erebus, though, that beast’s sense of what was “enough” was considered to be “too much” for everyone else.