Chương 97: “Throw the Pack in the Snow”

"Anna, are you sure you're okay?"

"Hm?" Anna looked up from the workbench, her face pale and damp with sweat. Two strips of cloth were plugged into her nostrils, stained red at the edges. She had one hand on a mortar and the other holding a vial at an angle, and her eyes were red from too many late evenings in a row.

"I'm fine! I can't slack off with production now that Celestia needs me."

"Still…" Liana leaned against the doorframe of the laboratory. Anna had been like this for days. Celestia had increased the potion orders without warning, and Anna had thrown herself into making sure they were properly provided, sleeping in the lab or barely sleeping at all actually, and working through nosebleeds with cloth stuffed up her nose.

Liana had offered to help with the simpler preparations, but Anna had waved her off each time, insisting that she was fully capable of accomplishing this task with her and her assistants.

"Do you need me to talk to Celestia?" Liana asked. Anna shook her head without looking up from the mortar.

"You don't need to! I'm sure she'll be back to her regular self soon." Liana wished she shared that confidence. Something had changed, out of nowhere, Celestia had gone cold toward everyone. She stopped visiting Anna's laboratory and stopped joining them for meals at the academy. The office door that used to be open whenever Liana passed by was now closed at all hours, and the few times Liana had knocked, Paimon answered and told her Celestia was unavailable.

Instructions came through Martha and Paimon to the lab now, written notes and relayed orders, never anything direct. When Liana had tried asking the two of them what was going on, Martha gave her a polite deflection and Paimon gave her nothing at all. Something had happened to Celestia. Liana was certain of it. She just didn't know what. So when her party arrived on Floor 15 and found Celestia sitting on the throne of the ice castle, legs crossed, Liana was befuddled.

The castle's grand hall had stretched out before them ice pillars lining both sides, a vaulted ceiling overhead, and at the far end, the raised platform with its throne. Celestia sat on it the way she sat on every chair: back straight, chin level. A small table with a teapot and cups had been set up near the base of the platform, and Paimon was standing beside Celestia, hands clasped in front of her. Shortly after the first exchange, Celestia invited Liana to the table to drink tea rather than continue fighting.

Liana had been tempted. She remembered the short time she spent with Celestia, sipping from a cup while listening to Anna talk. She had looked at the table, then she looked at her party's backs.. For now, her loyalty was to them. Arthur, Serena, Eryndis, though she had grown to dislike them, they had still come here to clear this floor, and Celestia was standing in the way. If they could beat her, if they could get past whatever wall she had put up, then maybe Liana could reach her on the other side.

She had held onto that thought through the entire fight. Even when Paimon's fist had cracked through her barrier. Even when the chokehold tightened around her neck and her vision had started to go dark. The last thing she remembered was the cold floor against her cheek and the sound of her own breathing getting farther away. Splash.

"I've grown tired of waiting for you to wake up." Lukewarm water hit Liana's face. Her eyes opened on instinct, and for a moment the warmth was almost pleasant. Then, the moisture on her skin turned cold in seconds, and the shift sent a shiver across her shoulders and down her arms. She blinked the water from her lashes, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and raised her head. Celestia sat across from her at a small table. Her legs were crossed.

A teacup rested in one hand, and a folded fan sat beside the saucer. Behind her, the ice walls of the castle caught pale light and threw it back in muted blues. Liana looked down. She was sitting in a chair she did not remember being placed in. Her staff was leaning against the chair, and her hands had been set on the table. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. She looked back up at Celestia.

"Gather yourself." Celestia sipped her tea. Something appeared at Liana's side. She turned her head. Paimon stood there, holding out a folded towel. Liana took it.

"Thank you, Paimon." Paimon said nothing and stepped back to Celestia's side. Liana dried her face first, then her neck, then wrung the water from the ends of her hair. Her fingers were stiff from the cold, and the simple act of squeezing cloth took more effort than it should have. She folded the damp towel and placed it on her lap. She reached for the teacup. The porcelain was warm under her fingers. She brought it to her lips and took a small sip.

The warmth passed through her chest and settled low in her stomach, spreading outward. She hadn't realized how cold she'd been until that first swallow. She placed the cup down carefully and looked across the table at Celestia.

"Good." Celestia set her own cup on its saucer with a soft clink.

"Now we can get to business."

"What do you mean by business?"

"I've heard quite the interesting things lately." Celestia's crimson eyes stayed level over the rim of her cup.

"You seem to be dissatisfied with your current party?" Liana's fingers tightened around her teacup.

"What makes you think so?"

"You stabbed Arthur during a drunken stupor." Liana's hands went still on the cup.

"It seems that after our last conversation on this topic, you've finally realized that you have a lot of repressed anger towards him." Celestia tilted her head.

"Do you not?" Liana said nothing. She picked up her teacup and brought it to her lips again.

"Have you finally made up your mind to quit the party?" Liana held the cup between her hands and turned it slowly against the saucer. The answer had already been clear for quite some time.

"Yes…" The word came out quieter than she intended.

"But even with that decision made, you're still worried about him." Liana's thumb ran along the rim of the cup. The honest answer was yes. She had spent so long being Arthur's anchor that the thought of letting go made her hands tighten around whatever she was holding.

"Mhm." Celestia leaned back in her chair.

"This is why relationships are nothing but trouble…" Liana looked up. It was a small thing. The words came in Celestia's usual flat tone, but everything before had been about Liana, her party and her decision. But this one wasn't.

"Did something happen?" Liana asked.

"Is that why—""Stop." Celestia set her cup down. Her expression had flattened again.

"Your best course of action now is to heal the entire party and come back tomorrow. The Floor Boss should respawn soon." She paused.

"Make your own decision regarding your current party."

"Paimon." Celestia picked up her teacup.

"See Liana out and throw the filth away from the castle."

"Yes, Lady Celestia."

"Lady Celesti—""Our discussion is over." Celestia brought the cup to her lips.

"Leave." Liana looked at her, and Celestia did not bother to look back, as if Liana had already gone. Liana stood. She bowed once, quietly, and pushed her chair back from the table. Then she turned and walked away. She walked across the frozen floor toward the rest of her party. Potions had been poured on them, just enough to close the surface wounds, but the bruising remained and none of them had regained consciousness.

Liana picked up Arthur's sword first, then Serena's sword, and then Eryndis's bow, tucking each under her arm until she was carrying the full set. The weight of three people's weapons pressed against her ribs. Paimon moved past her without a word. She grabbed Arthur by the back of his collar, then Serena by the scruff of her jacket and Eryndis by her coat, and dragged the three of them across the ice. Liana followed her through the castle's entrance and out into the open air. The wind hit her immediately.

After the controlled cold inside the castle, the raw tundra wind felt sharper, more direct, and the snow whipping across the frozen ground stung against her still-damp skin. Paimon deposited the three unconscious bodies in the snow outside, bowed once to Liana, and walked back inside without a word. The door closing behind her. Liana set the weapons down in the snow beside them. She knelt next to Arthur first. She placed her hands above his shoulder and started healing him. She had seen Arthur get hurt before.

Training matches and the occasional fight he was too stubborn to walk away from. But this was thorough. Every hit had landed on his face where it would hurt without killing. Liana looked at Arthur's face for a long moment. Celestia's voice came back to her.

"This is why relationships are nothing but trouble…" Liana resumed healing. She moved to Serena next, then Eryndis, mending what she could. It took time. Her mana was low from the fight, so she supplemented the rest with more potions. By the time she finished with all three, her hands were trembling again and her breath came out in thin white clouds. She sat back on her boots and looked at the three of them. The snow was already starting to settle on their clothes. She sighed.

'We can only wait, Anna…'