Capitolo 1.5: Lacci Crudeli (2/3)

“May I entice you for another cup of tea, dear?”

I blinked calmly as I saw the warm teapot being held in front of me. The one holding it was the bizarre being that was called Fontaine. Wearing an ochre-colored trench coat with three sharp frills sprouting from the top collar, the lanky being was also donning a matching hat with a tiny chamomile on the side and a lopsided brim that covered his eyes well enough.

He looked particularly peaceful considering his diplomatic approach in this unusual situation. Not only strange for both Bhediya and I, but also for the creatures that had decided to host us for the time being.

Kivouachians. Beings that had been existing from the very beginning of the world. The predecessors of humanity, and the entities that had been long praised as deities by ancient civilizations. The list of titles could go on with the kind of monsters I was forced to deal with my friend, but I decided against stroking the ego of those mysterious… aliens.

Bhediya was having a tougher time keeping his nervousness in check, mostly because his senses and instincts were screaming at him that we weren’t dealing with the usual brand of unnatural creatures. No, we were facing something that was by far the worst kind of ‘spectators’ we could’ve imagined to be facing while Dio was away for that business trip.

Especially now that Dio was away for that business trip.

Once again, I really wanted to bash my skull at having decided against writing a message to the owner of Made in Heaven. Her little pride having landed them in quite the precarious situation, one that I was unsure we could get out of if we didn’t manage to keep things stable at this unplanned meeting.

“A cup would be nice. Three sugar cubes,” I curtly replied, never having my eyes leave both Ludwig, the leader of this cast of dangerous beings, and Lucy, the most terrifying of the bunch. The critter looked as devious as she really was inside. A bundle of chaos that was coated in a layer of murderous senses and a thirst for inflicting torture on her preys.

Once the cup of tea was given to me, I took a moment to sip at it and… enjoy the pleasant fragrance and the proper sweetness of the relaxing beverage. A nod was given to show my positive reaction to the good blend that I was offered. Fontaine’s smile widened just a tiny bit, careful to not appear too forced with his ‘response’ or too lackluster by not reacting at all.

“I suppose you’re asking yourself why you’ve been spared by any attacks after… making your acquaintance with our little burden,” Ludwig muttered with a curious tone. “Please, be free to inquire and I shall answer the best I can.”

“That little burden… what is it? And why was it set free?” I decided to ask first and foremost. The way that monstrous entity had managed to slay five people in a single night so easily was enough to warrant some interest in understanding what was the truth about it.

“What you encountered was something of a… relic from our first rule. Something that wasn’t meant to be released in the open like that,” The ‘Grand Voice’ answered quietly. “Something that is now locked away and-”

“Will never wander around making trouble for us all,” Lucy interjected. “I bet ya were afraid of keeping on that fight. I could see that scaredy look you had when you saw her recovering.”

The intense stare that ensued was enough to actually get me tense and ready to brace myself for an attack. The fact the small critter looked ready to jump at the opportunity to attack so suddenly was enough to get me to worry about our survival.

Before something could’ve happened, Ludwig moved to grasp at the smaller being’s neck and pull her away from her tense posture. Lucy gnawed, trying to bite off one of Ludwig’s fingers, but failing to accomplish much in that effort beyond leaving some scratches on his hand.

“Forgive Lucy, she is rather… bored of being limited after what just happened,” Fontaine spoke up, but I turned my attention back to Ludwig instead of focusing on the ‘older’ Kivouachian.

“You responded to one of the questions,” Bhediya reminded tensely. “I suppose... you’re unhappy to part way with the answer to the second one.”

The tall being blinked, keeping quiet for a moment as he pondered on the matter.

“We ourselves are… unaware of who was behind the burden’s release into London,” Ludwig admitted, looking at Fontaine as if to ask some guidance on the matter.

“An investigation is currently unfolding on this situation,” The Spidery fellow added with a nod. “We will make sure whoever was responsible for this tragedy will be put under trial for high treason against the Kivouack.”

A frown adorned my face as I thought about this situation. Something was indeed off with their ‘subdued’ responses, and I knew that it had nothing to do with us both. So what was driving them to be this appeasing to us, and why do I feel like the reason behind this was way more unpleasant than I wanted?

“May I ask you a rather simple question? It’s one that I think might enrage you considering how blunt and unpleasant it might sound.”

…

Ludwig nodded slowly. “You may, Miss Hannah.”

Let’s hope this doesn’t land us in an uglier spot than the one we currently have…

“Why are you afraid of harming us?”

…

“Beg your pardon?” The Grand Voice asked with a surprised tone.

“You might be trying to play clueless on the matter, but I can tell that you’re being overly generous with this situation. For someone that is blessed with an important role, you’re sounding particularly...”

“Appeasing,” Bhediya commented with a fascinated tone.

Fontaine snorted. “You two sure are an incredible duo. Now I can see why that boy decided to give you this much trust.”

Boy?

The term at first left me perplexed since I knew of no boy… and then I realized that within the context, the old Kivouachian was referring about-

“Dio. You’re… doing this for-”

“A lucky brat that ended up becoming a little too troublesome to kill,” Lucy interrupted with a swift comment. “I can understand why you two need to bootlick around to the kid, but I don’t see how helpful it is to be this submissive in front of these humans.”

“And why are they doing this, Lucy?”

Her grin widened, and I felt a sudden chill go down my spine. There was no reason to refuse the fact that I was terrified by the frightening being sitting by Ludwig’s lap. By asking her something like that, I felt like I had opened a box full of death and despair… and I wasn’t sure if I should’ve been glad to have done that sacrifice or not.

“Well, your organization is big and important. Enough that making any of you disappear would warrant some nosing around that would make our efforts to remain unknown to you simians particularly difficult,” The murderous critter explained. “And… Ludwig is curious about you, little missy-”

“Enough, Lacemaker. You’re making quick waste of my patience with your unwarranted responses-”

“I believe those responses are more than warranted, Grand Voice Ludwig,” I interjected fiercely, feeling rather concerned by both reasons driving this forcefully diplomatic situation. While it was far from the worst scenarios, the situation at hand was far from idyllic.

They were interested in my abilities, perhaps growing interested with what they could do with me if they used me as a bargain chip to gain something from Dio. That mere idea… was enough to get my blood boiling and for my vampirism to intensify for a moment. Violet flashed red for a brief moment as I stared sternly at the interested Kivouachians, with Bhediya too tensing up as if expecting for a fight to break up from that very situation.

Everything was set to begin a glorious brawl, with Lucy giggling eagerly at the chaotic turn this whole farce of a meeting had turned into. But before anything happened, a knock by the door interrupted just a little bit the tense atmosphere.

Ludwig looked confused, staring at the only door of his office and pondering if he should’ve let him who was knocking or not. And in that moment, I felt once more concerned, this time about who was about to enter inside. It had to be another Kivouachian, but there was no means to know if their entrance would spell the beginning of that fight, or the end of any possible conflict.

“You may enter,” The Grand Voice ultimately decided, allowing for the Kivouachian on the other side to finally get inside that room.

Wearing a red coat that barely covered his bulky figure, the being that entered inside had dark-red fur and the head akin to a fox. His teeth were a mix of white, light-blue, and yellow, while numerous thin tails were fluttering peacefully from his lower back.

“Yeshua,” Fontaine greeted tensely. “As you can see… you might have not come in the best of situations.”

The Fox-like creature snorted. “As far as I can tell, this might be the best I could’ve imagined. Lucy has yet to murder anyone.”

“Mere moments, Yeshua. You are early by a few seconds from that to happen,” The murderous critter assured, only to get a bored look from the new entry.

“Does that mean you lost your touch, Lacemaker? Still, I want to know why the hell are you four getting so fussy about,” He asked, turning to stare right at me. “Like, what are you doing, Lady? We’re really trying to keep things from going to crap right now.”

“Yet you’re willing to appease to lower our guard,” I replied with a furious tone.

“All forms of appeasement leads to that,” He lamented. “But I can assure you that we don’t want to make a mess out of this. We just want to strike a deal with your boss, something that prevents each other from jumping at our throats.”

“How do we trust you with that?” Bhediya asked, his eyes narrowing at the new arrival.

This situation sure wasn’t turning any better, despite the blunt effort of the fox-like Kivouachian.

Yeshua sighed. “Because by normal circumstances I should be the one heading an assassination attempt to make sure our existence is kept a secret, and I really don’t want to mess my hands on killing a kid that got too many eyes aimed at himself.”

“So you… want an agreement to-” I tried to speak up.

“To not get to deal with that whole ordeal,” Ludwig finally spoke again. “We don’t need to face the trouble of having the entire Kingdom trying to find out what happened to its Golden Boy. That child he-”

“He is not a child,” I pressed with some irritation. “I don’t believe treating as such will work well with what you’re trying to accomplish. In fact, I believe the only thing you’re accomplishing to keep doing so is annoying me.”

“Oh? And why would we mind if you get ‘annoyed, little girl?” Lucy asked with a curious tone. “Are you going to whine? Maybe even try to put up a fight and-”

“You talk a lot for being a pathetic cat,” I remarked, my blood boiling again and my instincts flared once more as my thoughts were clouded in a thin shroud of red. “I suppose it has to come handy when you’re trying to get people vexed, but less so when the only thing you’re accomplishing is making a fool out of yourself.”

Foresight was easy to achieve after months of dealing with people of various kinds. Despite Lucy not being human, her mind had a framework that I could understand properly… and play with to my ultimate entertainment.

A growl, one that felt more like a mix of hissing and snarling, started to rumble through the small Kivouachian’s throat, now actively pushing herself out of Ludwig’s hold as she stared up right at me. I merely smiled, my red eyes glowing brightly as I waited for her to make that mistake.

The smile was enough to get her to strike, bolting across the room in an effort to hit me and put an end to me. How silly of a thought, I contemplated while swiftly swinging my open palm at her. Lucy flew towards me… and landed behind in two pieces. Her head rolled for a bit, with a surprised look now hanging on her face at that unexpected counter.

I too was uncertain of what limits my reaction time had while I was actively making use of this body’s power. I could use some of the vampiric boost offered by the Stone Mask, but that ‘ vampire mode’ was inaccessible while I was exposed to the sunlight.

It was true that I was human, that I could eat normal food and not be afraid of being hurt by the common weaknesses known about vampires. Heck, I also loved to visit the church nearby the headquarters when she was free from her work. The only unpleasant element of that delightful place of God being the creepiness I would feel while listening to the fiery sermons delivered by the passionate priest, a man from Italy that sought for the people to accept his view of a kind and merciful Lord and Father to all.

A blink, then two. Finally I realized what had just happened, with my little daydreaming coming to an end as I realized that there was something of a familiar green liquid trailing down my fingernails. It was at that moment that I realized what had just happened, and I felt panic swell within my heart as I expected for the rest of the Kivouachians to react badly at the death of one of their kind.

Yet none was reacting harshly to it, rather they appeared surprised by the fact I had managed to accomplish such a feat in little time. As I turned if decapitation had indeed put an end to Lucy’s life, I felt surprised at the fact I couldn’t see anything left of the small critter, quite sure that her divided body should’ve been there. Instead there was nothing staining the carpet and…

Now I could feel something sitting on my lap. As my stare turned and I braced for a sudden attack, I turned to see Lucy now sitting peacefully on there and looking at me with a curious look. Her mismatched eyes were still looking in two opposite directions once in a while, but her grin was gone. In its stead, a waiting look now plastered on her face as she expected something to happen now.

Is she… trying to…?

I blinked again, this time feeling rather adventurous with this move as I lifted my right hand. The palm quickly became a new fixation for Lucy’s attention, her stare still lacking any sort of malicious intent as I slowly approached her face and… her chin. A little scratching session ensued, with her eyes slowly closing as she allowed herself to be petted like that.

“Is this… normal?” I questioned, feeling more crept out than amused by that development.

“By human standards? No,” Ludwig calmly replied. “But I believe you might be forced to have her around a while from now on.”

…

“What?”

“You ‘won’ by Lucy’s own mentality. And that means she is going to stake a claim on… a role humans no longer consider acceptable.”

… “What?” I asked again, stressing how much confused I was with this whole escalation. What were they talking about? Why was Lucy behaving in such manner and-

“I believe they are trying to say that… the thing is trying to become your mate,” Bhediya commented uneasily, trying to digest the complicated situation we were both facing right now.

…

“No,” I flatly refused, leading the small critter to lean away from my touch with a slightly betrayed response to the sudden negative response. “My heart already belongs to someone that I consider to be my most precious friend. And that, I will never resign for no reason in this world.”

...What if I try to make something interesting out of this awkward situation? Dio had long mentioned that sometimes he had to come to compromises to get the best out of a situation, and maybe there was something that I could do to not only avoid any conflicts but also cement strong relations with this mysterious group.

“But I believe we can come to a compromise,” I decided to say, already thinking of something that could actually work well with the current situation.

Lucy perked at the curious proposal, listening up as I slowly explained to her what could be done out of this situation for everyone to win. While Ludwig looked uneasy at what I had in mind, the rest seemed to be somewhat accepting of my idea.

And the murderous critter now looked as giddy as she was mere moments before being decapitated, knowing full well what kind of benefits and opportunities that offer gave to her.

Hopefully Dio was going to like the little new liaison to the company. And hopefully nothing wrong would happen out of that risky gamble...