Chương 51: Chapter Forty Seven: Behind The Mask

"Where are they?!" Erichean threw his hands up in anger and kicked a fallen tree. It wasn't wise to make so much noise in the forest teeming with danger. But he couldn't help it. Both his sister and his … trusted valet. They were nowhere to be found. All he had with him was an unconscious kelpie that was getting heavier every second. He dropped her onto the ground unceremoniously, and she woke with a start. Coughing, she pushed herself onto her hands and knees, almost toppling over. What?

She wearily got back up and noticed a dull pain in the back of her neck. Oh.... She turned around with golden eyes blazing with fury." You." Erichean gave her an unimpressed look.

"Me?" Purple eye bags hung low on his face, and his smile was becoming increasingly cold. The warm, sunny boy who usually wore his skin had gotten lost in the forest, and in its place? Kissae bit out, "What did you do? Where is she? Where are we?" He shot back.

"What do you think? I don't know, and oh." Erichean bellowed, "I don't know!" She fumed and threw dirt at his face before tackling the boy to the ground. Erichean easily met her punch even with his eyes closed and pushed her back with the same fist. But she did surprise him with the dirt. That was surprising. Underhanded but surprising. Still... now is not the time to appreciate anything.

He held her down, sitting on her abdomen while she struggled relentlessly, clearly more energetic than him after a good night's rest. The one wearing black circles underneath his red eyes from a night of scouring the forest hopelessly, getting mud in his shoes, dust on his clothes, and an increasingly empty stomach that threatened to flip over like a fish on a cutting board.

It's not like he hadn't tried to have a drink, but every time he did, a badger or some other vicious forest creature leapt out of its hiding spot to attack him. Which meant putting Kissae down, defeating the creature, using up his energy, and eventually leading him to drink even more blood to replenish it. Resuming the vicious cycle of hunger. No wonder she carries so many snacks on her. He yelped after getting hit in the nose by the heel of her palm.

"Alright! I get it. I messed up! You need better skills than cheap shots if you want to protect her. Stop fighting dirty with me so we can work together to find them." Kissae glared at him icily but halted her thrashing.

"This is your fault. All you had to do was let me—" He cut her off.

"Ignorantly charge headfirst into being my little sister's imprint? Not a chance." He hissed.

"You don't even know what you're doing. What you could have done to her. What you could have done to yourself."

"So tell me! Stop being so goddamn stubborn and spit it out, you spoiled brat!" Both their chests heaved as they shared a moment of tense silence. He leaned back, still sitting on her abdomen to study her with his head tilted. Dark locks of hair obscured his eyes. A voice dipped in the ocean interrogated her, "Who are you?" Kissae gave him a startled answer. Scripted. Full of holes.

"My name is—" He had no patience for it.

"I could not care less what your name is, but you are not a run-of-the-mill mermaid. Whatever you are… those eyes." Even in the dark, they sparkled like jewels. Rare fucking oceanic jewels. A gnawing feeling clawed at his chest, and he vowed to get rid of her when he had the chance. Because if he was right...

"Your nonexistent need to run towards water after being on land for more than six months. It's rare. It's fucking rare. Which means it's hard to replace if you die! When we imprint, we only have one chance to do it again, but the taste has to be similar to our first. Otherwise we get despondent, we stop eating, and we die!" There are countless hidden toxicities in certain species' blood, but you don't need to know that. Birds chirped and flew away, gliding into the dense leafage above them.

Small bluejays with razor-sharp teeth were anticipating a bloody fight between the visitors. A bloody fight that hopefully they could pilfer a few scraps of meat from. Erichean ignored the hungry gazes from the birds and instead directed his attention at the lying mermaid. She's definitely some kind of merfolk. Those scales aren't indicative of a dragon. What you are determines who you are in this world.

Even if you weren't the ideal archetype, the whetstone of life will shave you down until you become the monster others see in you. Vampires are leeches. They can't live without the other races, but they also persistently make it harder to live with them. Werewolves are social pack animals. They can't be alone otherwise, their physical and psychological health suffers. Witches are elusive figures who cannot be trusted, controlled, or disobeyed. Just like their magic. And you...

You're either one of the Kelpies, or you're something else entirely. And I have every intention of finding out who's standing by my sister's side. Especially if you're this resistant to the truth. Kissae averted her eyes, then opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of wat, er before exclaiming, "Okay… Well you should've told me that! Instead of just knocking me out and stranding us in the middle of nowhere!" Her dismissal of the previous question didn't escape him but more pressing matters demanded attention.

Erichean grunted in agreement and rolled off of her bruising abdomen, allowing her to breathe full breaths.

"Yes. I see that now in hindsight. But that's not important. I have no idea how long we've been walking, but I can't smell her." Kissae massaged her wrists and grimaced, "What do you mean?"

"Her scent. She has a very unique scent, so it's usually easy to track, but I can't smell her. There are too many interfering scents here that are masking it." Citrusy and sweet. Too sweet for his tastes, but he enjoyed the smell nonetheless. Sometimes he imagined oranges and vanilla cake when he smelled her. That was one of the first things he noticed about her. Back when she really was just a baby. He used to visit her. Her nursemaid was all too easy to bribe. It started as curiosity.

What kind of child was so undesirable that her own mother would neglect her to that point? Shunned. Barely spoken of. Maybe there was something wrong with her. Maybe she had died like the last offspring, and Niathe was just hiding her grief. Concealing the truth from all but herself. So late at night, behind a silver mask enchanted to distort others' sight, he snuck in and found the most beautiful child he had ever seen in his twenty-odd years of living.

Soft everywhere and bathed in moonlight from the glass latticed windows providing light. Small pink lips. Puffy cheeks rounded adorably. Strands spun from snow curling delicately around her face. Then she opened her eyes momentarily to blink, yawn, and wiggle around in her sleep. Stunning, soul-shaking eyes. Mismatched and perfect. She looked like a rabbit. A chubby baby rabbit. Like the ones that used to hop around in the back gardens beneath the undergrowth and below the ground in little burrows. He poked her.

Just to see what she would do. And she bit me. It didn't hurt. She had no teeth to bite him with yet... but it was odd. Endearing in a way. He poked her plump cheeks with another finger, and she grabbed at it with more force than a babe should harbor. She babbled in her sleep and held him there before returning to peaceful slumber. Completely unguarded. Not much of a survival instinct with this one. He left after she finally let go. Returned to his room with a head full of confusing thoughts revolving around her.

Mystery solved. No need to return once more. I avoided her after that. Probably because I didn't like how much I liked the soft rabbit's countenance befitting of being favored by moonlight. It was too... nice. Nice things are fragile, often stolen, and a weakness. Nice things are a voluntary crutch. That lasted maybe two days. But he crawled back to her room eventually with plenty of gold for her nursemaid. Willingly, she distracted the guard outside while he slipped inside unnoticed. Just one last time.

She slept a lot. In her cradle. In his arms. She slept so much he sometimes found himself trying to bait her with a bottle of goat's milk to wake her up so he could hopefully score a glimpse at those eyes. When he did. Enchanting. A perfect example of asymmetrical beauty. His fingers often twitched with the need to immortalize her. Paint her into something that would be as timeless as her. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

He'd place his nose near her ears and inhale that sweet scent. She'd just continue snoring along like nothing in the lower realm was worth her time. How could anyone leave her alone? Stuck in this cobwebbed room like a discarded toy. Her one true guardian swayed by handfuls of gold. Despicable. Of course he was to blame too, but it shouldn't have been this easy. Until she was old enough to speak. Sassy pointed words covered in barbs. That is not my fault, I swear. She must have heard Niathe speaking like that.

And read. Like a sponge, she consumes details about nearly everything and spits them out of her always moving, venomous mouth unfiltered. And eat. Gods, does she eat, but that's good. A healthy appetite for human food is always good for children that young in the long run. It took a bit of research. To find things that she would like and were good for her. The library is extensive, but child-rearing novels are often found in more niche common stores.

Soft, nice things that no one else in the house ever approved of before. Storybooks with happy endings. Knowledge of the world around us. Shiny things. Sweet things. Hugs. Things that the fae discouraged often. Attachments replaced by momentary pleasures and variety. Time spent with Miseria oftentimes feels like a break. Then it became clear that it wasn't only him that preferred her company to anyone else. Words didn't need to be said. Secrets didn't need to be kept. From the day she was born.

My little rabbit had closed her eyes and nuzzled up to me instinctively. And I responded in kind. Of all of my burdensome siblings. I appreciate her warmth and understanding the most. Her sweetness that comes without a catch, even though she insists that it does. Little thief. Harleen started it. She never had much of an interest in anything but books until that gold coin. If it's gold she wants, then she'll get it. She deserves it. A sweetheart like that—doused in honey. She's too sweet for this world.

So much potential yet so afraid. Niathe might really kill me once she finds out. That her precious daughter is too much like me. She'll definitely kill me if she finds out I lost her. I could kill for something sweet right now. Yet all I have now is a salty mermaid. Perhaps the birds will do. Erichean set his sights on the birds with a similar-colored feather to the annoying girl next to him. Can't be picky. His hand flashed, and a bird was struck down with a knife.

He sauntered over to it and snatched it off the ground before its associates could take advantage. Without further ado, he sank his teeth into the belly of the bird and sucked it dry. Blergh. He shook his shoulders out and threw it away. Foul. But good enough for now. The birds swarmed towards their former friend and heartlessly picked at the body until it was pestered into nothing but bones. Kissae got up on her elbows and took in their circumstances. A different part of the forest for sure.

It was slightly warmer here, the air was thick with humidity, and there was more wildlife in comparison to where they first met. Particularly birds.

"So what do we do?" Her stomach growled soon after, and she groaned in pain. Erichean rocked back on his heels and massaged his forehead.

"I have a bad idea." He turned back to see her already standing up. Covered in grass stains and had a missing pant leg. He had torn it off to make a bandage for her head. Accidentally. He had banged it against a tree while she was sleeping. Feeling guilty and rightfully wary of leaving any traces for an animal to pick up. He had ripped half of it off and tied it around her forehead. She doesn't seem to have noticed the bandana yet. Well. I'm not gonna tell her. Really, she deserves it for being so lengthy.

She accosted him, "Don't have bad ideas. Have good ideas." He replied without any of his usual warmth and was too tired to muster up a hint of cruelty.

"I've exhausted all my good ideas, and I can't wait any longer." It had taken him all night to come up with this idea. All night. Because it's so bad he'd call himself mad if he had any other options. Tapping her foot on the ground impatiently, she looked to him with blame, "So what is it?" Erichean raised a finger and maneuvered his bag to rest on his stomach. Kissae jumped up on her feet and stretched out her limbs. Are we hunting? Erichean pulled out a space bag? Kissae asked in a state of confusion.

"I thought those were useless here?" Erichean bit his lip and drew blood.

"They are. Unless you directly activate them in the forest." He smeared a pattern using his blood on the bag with his thumb. A deep sense of foreboding came over Kissae.

"And why doesn't anyone else do that?" He snapped, "Because it violates the laws of the forest." Kissae's eyes widened, and she shrieked, "Then why are you doing it?!" Erichean took a magic stone out of his pocket and placed it in the center of the formation.

"Who enforces the laws of the forest?" Kissae gasped and tried to turn tail. She only got a few yards away. He's trying to get us killed! Only to come face to face with a gauze veil. She reared back and stepped back in the direction of Erichean, who was mumbling under his breath as bright golden light enshrouded the bag he was chanting over.

"..." Silently, two other veiled figures stepped out of the tree line to back up the one Kissae was staring at. Together they surveyed the scene from behind gauze meant to conceal their features. That was quick. Erichean threw the space bag back into his body and raised his hands.

"Madam. We have come in peace." A shrill and high-pitched voice asked sternly, "To break laws?" Erichean lowered his gaze and spoke as civilly as possible, "To seek guidance for my sister. Who I was separated from in this forest. She's barely two and just awakened. With a truly fearsome ability." He fidgeted and tried not to look them in the eyes. It's disrespectful. Another woman demanded solemnly.

"Name, boy?" He gave it, but with some reluctance.

"Erichean Marcuis Duccanes." They hissed at his last name, and he winced. Although he was expecting it, he didn't anticipate how deeply the resentment flowed even to this day. N othing I can do about that. I won fair and square. I won't apologize. He began.

"I know how you feel."

"Careful," Kissae warned. Don't provoke one of the most powerful races in the lower realm on their land.

"But my sister is innocent, and she's the daughter of your Queen." He finished. The shrill-sounding one expressed with a harsh tone, "We don't acknowledge that harpy!" Erichean tilted his head down and frowned.

"Are you referring to Her Majesty Queen Illyria or the Sovereign?" How discourteous. They really don't put the imperials in their eyes. The witches shared a look.

"Niathe?" When they saw him shake his head no, they questioned, "If not her?"

"The daughter of the Sovereign Princess. Queen of this forest. It's her only daughter that awakened." The shrill-sounding woman immediately requested one of her colleagues to send a search party.

"Send Bianca to look for her along with some of the young ones. Bring out the lanterns. Ask the pixies. I want her before it's too late." She turned to Erichean again.

"Boy. Do you have anything to help the process? A token?" An outstretched hand pulled the veil slightly. Erichean's hands dropped to his sides, and he thought carefully. Oh. He brought out a box of tea leaves he had stolen from her precious bag of goodies.

"Will this do?" The box lifted out of his hand and floated in the air until it found its place in the silent woman's hand. Her hands lingered on it until she nodded.

"Boy. Fish Girl. Come with me to the compound. No tricks." The loudest one beckoned them. Fish girl? Kissae tried to protest.

"But I want to look for her. She's not safe. She's craving. Tell them Erichean!" The witches shook their heads and pointed in the direction of a trail that had magically appeared in front of them.

"Follow or stay." The three of them in their long black gowns and veils stepped onto the path without another word. Kissae looked back at Erichean, and he shook his head no. Give up and give in.

"You don't argue with a hitch. They'll find her. Trust me." He walked up to her and lightly pushed her with his shoulder to go forth. Kissae bit her lip and looked back at the dark, eerie trees. She eventually gritted her teeth and nodded. Together, they reluctantly walked the path into a den of witches.