Chapter 6

The room both sisters shared was immensely large: two queen-sized beds positioned on opposing ends of the vast space, each having its own polished, wooden bedside table propped beside it with an ivory water jug and a glass for drinking, whenever the need arose.

In addition, each sister was in possession of an individual closet, Seloria’s stuffed to bursting point with work clothes and several casual wears. Kairi noted, having preened through the lot of hardly-fashionable garbs, that her older sister did in fact have a pair of formal dresses, stashed in the very back of the hefty wardrobe cupboard. ‘For business-related…stuff,’ the younger reckoned, flopping leisurely onto her bed followed by a tired sigh. Her own closet, the 15-year-old knew, was slowly filling up with casual clothes. Having just got out of the most spacious of bathrooms (with a huge bathtub and shower), she cast her gaze about the rest of her shared domicile as her mind took in the past month and two weeks.

Stein had constantly drilled into her during their spars of how she could control herself and her actions in battle, that she could choose for her self to not hurt those she did not want hurt, and to hurt those she actually wanted hurt. Odd stuff really – but true. Yula would then train her in magic and help to expend her magical reserves near immediately after while her sister found time in her ever-busy schedule to tutor the younger Kairi regarding world-matters and current issues. Basically, things someone of the time just needed to be up to speed on with Rityu and Phiol occasionally popping in for the assist.

The former often disappeared during the day, something Kairi wondered about but thought nothing more of at great length. When he was around though, Rityu would spend that time with her and Stein in the training compound…training. Other times, even the all-important Lord Nerion would come around and provoke the younger duo into a match against him. Such happenings usually concluded with both teens on the cold hard flooring, breathless and dripping with sweat. Obviously Stein’s persistent declarations of “We’ll get you yet, father!” had yet to see fruition, not once.

“Kairi,” Seloria called from the room’s entrance, stirring her younger sister from her recollections. Kairi tilted her head to look at the other, fatigue refusing to permit her the bother of sitting up. “Your clothes for tomorrow are ready.” Seloria masked an amused smirk as the tired girl shot up stiffly from bed, rushing up to her after a very slight pausal-blink. She watched as Kairi narrowly avoided running into the table on her side of the huge room, noticing some of the top few strips of paper of the large piles on it flutter minutely at the younger’s speedy run-pass.

The teen stood before her sister full of childlike glee, fatigue presumably forgotten. She had been informed of tomorrow’s stressingly-important business conducts that were to be had with the Doyles; of which she was to have no part in. It would have been a long journey for these ‘guests’ apparently and as her parents were to be involved in the meeting for a lengthy duration, Karyme, the Doyles’ lone daughter was to be her (Kairi) and Stein’s responsibility for the day – they were tasked with taking her out into town, hence the new attire. On a side note, Kairi had overheard some of the maids’ gossip about Yula having supposedly forced Stein into getting a similar outfit as hers. Curiosity had sparked her to question the older teen about the matter just the other day. Stein, of course, simply rolled his eyes and refused to say anything.

“Where is it? Where is it?” she asked the older excitedly, bouncing repeatedly on the balls of her feet. Seloria sniggered, finally giving in when Kairi pouted and handed the younger the uniform look-alike attire she had choicely hid behind her slender frame. To her amused delight, Seloria watched as her sister performed a little happy dance before actually looking at the set of clothing. Said clothing was really a semi-formal assemble of a collared, three-quarter sleeved top and a simple pleated skirt in shades of calming blue and white. A pair of black ankle-high boots that were to go with this outfit had been passed to the younger of the two earlier by a maid.

Kairi stared at it for a moment before the corners of her lips lifted up, a pure, happy smile lighting her face. “This is great!” she exclaimed, turning to face her sister. Seloria laughed and walked up to the younger Thyride, gently picking the clothing out of the girl’s hands.

“You need rest,” the older affirmed her response to Kairi’s whine. “Unless you have no intention of waking up on time to join us in greeting our guests.” Kairi pouted at her sister yet again before grudgingly returning to her bed and lying down. Just before she pulled on the covers, she sat up again as if some urgent detail had jolted in her mind. The young brunette looked at Seloria who was sitting at her study, leafing through several folders. Seloria caught her gaze and smiled.

“I have some last minute adjustments to do for tomorrow. Go ahead and sleep first, Kai.” Kairi frowned a little at the nickname. It was Phiol who had first gotten to calling her that, and soon enough everyone else caught on too, even (rather surprisingly) Nerion, who used the nickname to taunt her into fighting all those spar matches against him in the first place. Seloria laughed at her expression, and Kairi huffed and laid down, pulling the covers up and over her head before muttering a quiet ‘g’night’.

As soon as Kairi’s breathing evened out, Seloria set down the file and sighed. Stealing one last thoughtful glance at her younger sister, she moved towards the door, flicking the light switch off as she passed it and stepped out, making sure the wood shut silently behind.

Stein met up with her in the hallway, he had been waiting. The purple-haired teen procured a curt nod of acknowledgement before then leading the way to Phiol’s personal office on the same floor. Seloria had the keys. Once the duo had settled themselves in the relatively still-messy office, Seloria turned to her companion.

“So what did you want to know about Kairi?”

Seloria watched languidly as Stein leaned back in his seat, as if thinking on how to word his question. She found the frown on his features to be somewhat unsettling. “That scar on your neck,” he began at last.

“Was it Kairi’s doing?” The duo locked eyes (or ‘eye’ in Seloria’s case). Stein’s gaze questioning, Seloria’s taken aback.

Absent-mindedly, she reached up to rub said scar. She had gotten it right after that one failed ritual Kairi had undergone, the brunette remembered. “Yes…yes it was,” she answered uncertainly, wondering where this conversation was headed. “It was a few weeks before the massacre,” she chanced.

Again, Stein frowned – Seloria was being evasive. He would not obtain the answers he sought from her this way. The teen exhaled. ‘Time to tell her what I know,’ he decided. “Kairi showed it to me,” he stated, his mismatched eyes coolly looking into Seloria’s sole blue one that widened in heightened surprise. “So… what was that ritual thing all about?”

Seloria closed her eye, a hand pinching the bridge of her nose, the other on her hip while muttering something about how she ‘shouldn’t have taught Kairi that spell when she was young’.

“It’s…to tame the demonic qualities in our Thyride blood that causes us to go berserk unexpectedly. Most of us – me included – needed three or four sealing rituals to get it under control, but Kairi needed more than that. She was…a special case.” Seloria paused. “The demonic quality in Kairi’s blood is far more potent than normal, which means she is more susceptible to turning berserk when fighting,” she trailed off at that, sighing again. “Look Stein, to fully understand any of this, you need to know something about the Thyride ancestors. No, don’t interrupt!”

After making sure the younger teen understood her warning was serious, Seloria began. “I don’t remember the exact date, but it was several hundred years ago. The world was at war, and the situation then was far graver than it is now. A demon by the name of Lucifer was let loose then, and while he had an entire army of soldiers at his disposal to do his bidding, he purposely took control of a human’s mind. He…used this individual to bring terror into civilians’ hearts ala clichéd ‘take over the world’ plan. What made this fear worse, however, was this person was strong for her age, immensely so, and she appeared to have no emotions to speak of whatsoever while committing whatever acts she was forced to do. This person was the Thyride’s ancestor, Janice – an interesting fact: Kairi is said to look exactly like her, even in terms of fighting style.”

She moved on before Stein could comment on that. “Within a month, nearly the entire world was under Lucifer’s control, and that control was enforced by the controlled-Janice. At the time, most did not dare to stand up against the demon, and those who did lacked manpower and met their doom. Then came a man who is shown in the Aitelorn history archives to look…exactly like you, Stein; your ancestor, Livore Aitelorn.

“According to the stories, he was as brash as you were,” Seloria jibbed with a laugh, making the younger teen scowl at her. “But… he was brave enough to stand and face both Lucifer and Janice, and managed to bring Janice out of the control Lucifer placed on her – exactly how he managed that feat we do not know. Subsequently, he completely turned the tide in the war, and with Janice, they sealed Lucifer away in a location unknown.”

“Uh-huh…The Demonic War was written in history books,” Stein deadpanned. Seloria gazed at him evenly for a moment.

“There are things history books don’t write down, Stein,” she said solemnly, and Stein immediately turned serious in return. “What people did not know was Janice was slowly dying due to a spell Lucifer placed on her, and had to get into a pact with a neutral demon who hated Lucifer with a passion to keep herself alive until the war was over. The price was simple: the Thyride blood was to have its demonic qualities in it from then on, and should whoever of her descendents look and act like her will the demon state its next price. We don’t know the demon’s actual name, but Janice recorded the name down as ‘Roan’.”

“There is something I don’t understand,” Stein muttered after a moment’s silence. “Why did Janice not tell Livore about the spell on her? Did she not trust him?”

Seloria kept silent for a moment, apparently thinking. “From what I remember,” she started, “It was not an issue of trust. Her personality, once out of Lucifer’s control, was one that worries about others more than herself. Her journal recorded that she did not realize the effects of the spell until near the end of the war, and after the sealing of Lucifer, she made sure Livore could not find her. All for the simple reason ‘I don’t want anyone to worry’.”

“It’s almost as crazy as how Livore ignored all the people who wanted the Aitelorns to have ‘hero statuses’ of sorts,” Stein commented with a wry smirk. “Of course, according to his journals and much to his displeasure, they treated him and his family like royalty for a while. They still do right now, but it’s extremely mellowed down.” Seloria noted he had to gall to smirk cockily at that – he and his brothers were the ones who made sure the royal treatment was not-so royal anymore in the first place.

~*~

Everyone in the Aitelorn household was up pretty early the next day. Maids and butlers scuttled about to make sure all was orderly for the Doyles’ arrival. The guest rooms were cleaned and tidied, the meeting room was propped with necessities and cleared of the constant clutter Phiol always caused, and refreshments and meals were prepared. Seloria was amongst the maids and butlers, putting together the preparations, then overseeing all files and documents required for the eventual meeting for a hopeful-merge. Nerion and Rityu were barking commands about, occasionally assisting a butler or two in positioning some of the heavier miscellaneous items. Yula on the other hand, busied herself in the kitchens with the chefs.

Missing from the bustling scene were the two youngest of both families, hiding out in one of the training fascilities. They figured the hectic situation was as good an opportunity as any to squeeze in some last minute training – they had a mission, or so Nerion told them, after their soon-to-arrive company left. Stein grinned at the other after a particularly fulfilling session in which Kairi had actually dared attack him more times than he could bother to keep track of during a spar. “Better,” he told the cocoa-haired female, who had immediately dropped to the floor. If her expression was anything to go by, Stein reckoned the girl was dumbfounded that she had gone on the offensive as much as she did.

He walked over to her, pulling Kairi back on her feet. “Now, we have to freshen up before the others come at us,” Stein said, a little apprehensive. Kairi regained herself and let out an amused laugh.

“I brought my change of clothes with me,” she proudly declared, then paused for a bit to study her companion’s features. “You…didn’t bring yours, huh? You’re so screwed,” she deadpanned, then guffawing away as Stein’s expression grew graver.

With that, the slacker-duo rushed their preparation, Kairi laughing in extreme amusement the moment she spotted Stein in his new attire as they met up in the corridor. She noted that besides the fact that he was in slacks and short sleeves while she a skirt and three-quarter sleeves, the maids had been right in their gossiping. It was they whom had fetched the clothing for him too. The latter scowled profusely in response. He felt certain Kairi’s older sister had something to do with these matching uniforms.

Their dash to the Central from their meeting point took a ridiculous fifteen minutes. They skidded to a halt just before the Central, ducking their heads sheepishly when Seloria and Yula levelled them a look. Nerion shook his head, displeased and Phiol sighed exasperatedly. Rityu, on the other hand, had laughed and clapped them both on the shoulder with a “that was awesome, do it again next time”. Kairi believed Rityu’s rather odd and sometimes twisted sense of humour was at work here for him to think barely making it on time was awesome.

“Announcing the Doyles’ arrival,” a butler called from the main doors as two others pushed the sizely hard-metal barrier open. Quickly taking their positions beside their respective sibling (siblings in Stein’s case), Kairi observed, smiling serenely as Phiol took charged and began introducing everyone to the Doyles’.

The family heads not particularly catching her attention, Kairi listened long enough to know how to address them before riding them off as the stereotypical sort of businessman and his loyal wife. Of course, Seloria and the others had told her a bare minimal about these distinguished guests to begin with besides the fact that they were here to do trade, so it was not as if she had many other conclusions to come to. Judging by their clothes though, odds were they were pretty well off. Several more adults accompanied the Doyles’ and Kairi’s eyes danced across their faces one after another, noting how a number of them were armed with rather intriguingly-designed blades. ‘Assistants and bodyguards maybe?’

“Kairi?” Yula’s voice snapped her out of her pondering thoughts. Distracted, the teen cast a questioning look at the matriarch who in turn jerked her head in a different direction. Kairi traced Yula’s gaze, orange eyes soon meeting that of translucent aquamarines. “I’m Karyme,” the owner offered, exchanging pleasantries. It was then when Kairi realized that this was the Doyle’s daughter that she and Stein were to accompany for the day.

Both females shook hands before Karyme moved on to greet Stein in a similar manner, allowing Kairi time to study her. A strawberry-blonde with long wavy hair and alabastor skin, not forgetting those pale aquamarine eyes. She was frightfully slim too, practically skinny and frail in appearance. As such, Kairi found herself wondering if maybe Karyme was ill…or something. Nonetheless, her clothes seemed as posh as that of her parents’, a short, collared shirtdress with elegant long sleeves, black leggings underneath and a pair of leather thigh-high boots.

“Kairi, would you mind running ahead and telling the maids we’re coming up to the meeting room soon?” asked Yula, completely oblivious as to what was going through the girl’s mind.

The brunette pushed her thoughts away for the time being, smiled in response then nodded. “Right away, Mistress Aitelorn,” she answered smoothly – Seloria shot her a discreet smile; the older Thyride had previously drilled her on such formalities within the safe confines of their room, after all. She took a few steps back and bowed with a soft “by your leave” before turning on her heels and taking off down the corridor.

Kairi made it to the meeting room in record time, watching as the maids were still in the midst of clearing away what was left of Phiol’s mess. One of them turned to her inquiringly, and her message brought them into a rather panicked hurried frenzy. Kairi too decidedly pitched in the clearing and everyone eventually calmed after a few (quite amusing) minutes to set light refreshments on the table. Soon enough, the small group of maids stood by the door, immediately bowing and excusing themselves when the Aitelorns plus one and their guests came into view. Kairi herself bowed slightly as they entered, Rityu whispering a soft “good job so far” as he passed.

A half hour later saw Kairi, Stein and Karyme at the front entrance with Kairi checking and making sure the older duo (Karyme being Stein’s age) had their cloaks on – the weather was slowly getting chilly. While Karyme appeared quizical at Kairi’s scrutiny and Stein rolled his eyes, the cocoa-haired teen just smiled serenely and pulled her poncho on – she liked the “stupid piece of sewn cloth”, as Rityu coined it.

~*~

Karyme knew not what to make of the younger Thyride. Sure, Kairi seemed…pleasant to be around, but at the same time, her senses were alerting her to something…darker…about the young brunette; something sinister. Listening somewhat half-heartedly to the playful banter between Kairi and the only male in their three-man party, Stein, the blonde had to wonder just how much of Kairi was, well…’real’, and then how much was not. The Doyle heiress instinctively decided then that it might serve her better to be wary around the girl.

As they walked on along the many pathways, Karyme remained quite content with being a listener rather than actually partaking in the duo’s conversations. Of course, providing them with this insight saw no end to their occasional attempts to drag her right into it with questions and such, to which she replied modestly. Soon with more careful observation, several questions too arose within her regarding the young brunette. Karyme found it somewhat odd of how the other town folk would keep this certain measure of distance from the girl as they went about their daily activities, something Kairi always seemed grateful for. She appeared fine around Stein though.

‘Something’s…off’, thought the blonde curiously as she continued to tail after the duo. Then as if the sudden thought struck him, Stein let out a string of colorful words, much to Kairi’s amusement and her shock, and turned to them, a sheepish, apologetic smile on his face.

“I just remembered; father wants me to retrieve something from the weapon’s shop.” Kairi let out an overly-exaggerated huff, Karyme noted with mild amusement. “Go on, the brunette told the male, making shooing motions with one of her hands. “We’ll wander around for a bit.”

Not wasting any time, Stein excused himself from the girls then, making his way over to one of the shops the trio had passed earlier on. With that, Karyme found herself obligated to engage the younger in small talk, responding in kind regarding the trivial things Kairi brought up – the weather topic came up rather frequently.

Just as Kairi pointed out the fifth residential district to her, the ground shook just slightly and Kairi looked around, alarmed. It was enough reason for Karyme to adopt some level of circumspection inwardly – Destila was certainly not an area prone to earthquakes. Minor deduction led the blonde to believe that the quakes were stronger towards the Eatern portion of the city, sumrmising from the mass amounts of townspeople running their way from the specific direction. ‘The heart of Destila?’ She pondered.

Quickly, Kairi’s hand shot out and grabbed the arm of a running passerby with a loud “excuse me, sorry”. “What’s going on?” she asked, her confusion clearly etched on her features.

The passerby took a few deep breaths then spoke, stammered more like. “A guy… silver hair… yellow eyes… attacking…” It was slight, Karyme conceded, but Kairi’s (very odd) orange eyes had widened just a tad bit then narrowed, her calm smile masking the… fury?… in her orange orbs.

“I see. Thank you. Get to the Aitelorn castle as quickly as you can, and bring the townspeople with you,” she told the individual, who nodded briskly and dashed off again as Kairi pulled off her poncho, folding it as neatly as she could while standing before turning to her (Karyme), a small smile of cold calm on her features. The blonde could tell; there was something drastically different about her demeanor now.

“Forgive me for my rudeness right now,” Kairi said, bowing slightly. “Karyme, take this,” she passed her folded poncho to her, “find Stein in that weapons’ shop and go back to the castle,” she said firmly.

“Tell Stein, Seloria… whoever, that I have gone on ahead to face this guy, and I will definitely need reinforcements. The most I can do is delay Cain from attacking the other districts.” Although not at all in agreement with Kairi’s insane choice to send her back to the estate while she alone faced this strange enemy without any immediate assistance, the blonde heiress nodded faintly, promting the younger female to recite hasty directions to the specific weapons’ shop. And then she was off, skillfully evading the panicking townspeople.

Karyme watched, apprehensive. Whatever was going on, the young brunette had made it painfully clear that she needed reinforcements and fast. With that in mind, Karyme herself dashed off in search of Stein…

She had a bad feeling about this.