The Love and Death of Venus

Murdering for Children

"On my way to Nicheville, on my way to Nicheville," I hummed as the magic between realms washed over me. "Du a do a do."

"Luka, do you even know where we're going?" Nichole called out a short bit behind me. Of course I knew where we were. We'd stepped out of the world of Terra and into Nicheville. Who knew what exciting opportunities awaited us here?

Terra was boring. Nothing but farmland, forests, and the cruelty of others. It was torturous enough living there as a Provectus in a world full of Pelagus. You didn't need a sharper mind or faster reaction times to have basic decency. We're all human, after all.

"Luka!" She yelled. "Where are we going?!" A quick turn on my heel to face her, the sun glaring behind her chestnut head.

"Why wouldn't I know where we are? It was my idea to move to Nicheville anyway." I looked up ahead to where the dirt path of Terra turned into a smooth stone one. There's bound to be a carriage up here.

"That's not what I asked and you know it." Nichole caught up with me. "I asked where we're going. You don't expect us to walk all the way to the heart of Nicheville from here?" She tightened her bag straps as she asked. It was filled with the little possessions she'd brought from her home in Terra. I'd promised her a grand adventure in another world for an extra body of protection. Nichole had been a good friend to me while I was finishing training as a guardian in Next-Ed. We'd both graduated with honours. I'm sure her skills as a researcher would come in handy. Any neat sketches she did would be a bonus.

"We're taking a carriage-ride thingy. If they're in Terra and Advano, they're bound to be in Nicheville, right?" I kept my eyes on the horizon in search for any carriages along the borders.

"I-I think so?"

It took us a while to find a carriage to take us further in. If it weren't for the cloudy skies, I'd swear we were still in Terra. Endless green trees stretched on forever. Nichole was sketching something in her notepad. I kept an arm on her in case she trailed off in the wrong direction. We did hit a clearing where the dirt road shaped into cobble. We were close.

I jumped up to where the carriage man was sitting and made myself comfy next to him. "Hello there dear carriage man." I started. "What's your name?""Uh. Beaumont?" He shifted awkwardly. "I can take you two out to any of the main cities in Nicheville." He mustn't get many people out here all on his own.

"Nichole!" I called out, not realizing she was right below me. "You hear? How much money do we have?" I turned back around to Beauy "I'm sure we've enough to get in."

Nichole ruffled through our bag and pulled out a few jacks. "We have a hundred. Where can we go for twenty?" she inquired. Nichole kept twenty jacks out in her palm and shoved the rest back into the white bag.

"For twenty I can take you to the entrance of the city Morgaru-"

"Where's that?"

"North-west part between the wider ocean and the entrance to the realm of Advano." Beauy shifted away from me. Not a large amount but noticeable enough. "Are you interested in going there?"

"Sure. Take me to Morgaru." I jumped off the seat and got into the plain wooden carriage. Nichole paid him and made herself comfortable across from me. As soon as she was settled, she went back to working on a sketch.

"So Beauy. Got any good tales from your long, fulfilling career as a carriage man?"

***

We entered the region of Morgaru without any difficulties. Beauy had told a story on the foundations of the Majora for three hours. Traditional Terran story used to explain the ways of the world. Twenty Arcana representing different aspects of the infinite universe. The first was the Fool, Arcana of beginnings, who formed the world when it tapped its staff tip on the first grain of soil. I tuned out by the time it got to the World, fore-teller of destiny. Nichole took notes as if it wasn't the first time we'd heard it growing up. Exiting the carriage, I noticed a stable on the outskirts. The stables were filled with horses with Palomino, Frisian, Appaloosa, Shire...