The Unseen Road

Chapter Twenty-Four

Celeste's single hour of reprise didn't last very long; and her coming back into consciousness wasn't the most pleasant, either. Her eyebrows twitched together when there was a rather exaggerated clamor just beyond the barred door, followed by the screeching, rusted metal sound of it swinging open.

Oh, that's right. I'm in a jail cell.

"Just give me five more minutes..." she murmured unenthusiastically, if not sarcastically. Her rest had been all too short- and she dreaded having to wake up and face whoever woke her up. Probably General Bion.

Before she could even open her eyes, though, a jarring shock of putrid, lukewarm water was slammed over her entire body- leaving her cold, wet, and very unenthused. But because the sudden treatment wasn't exactly unanticipated, Celeste simply moaned again, rolling herself up from her reclined position.

Slowly rising to her knees, with her eyes still hardly cracked open, she faced the bucket-holder.

"... Really?" she asked, opening her eyes a little more, her tendrils of hair dripping the murky water onto the floor beneath her. "Was that really necess—"

Seeing who stood in front of her, she stopped; her eyes narrowed. "Oh. It's you."

The figure that stood smirking before her wasn't General Bion; instead, possessing a much more feminine, voluptuous form, the one who had so cruelly interrupted her sleep was none other than Beatrice.

Letting out a sigh when Beatrice said nothing in reply, Celeste got up and casually walked over to the back corner of her cell to wring out her hair. "I mean, I know Bion only said an hour, but really? A bucket of sewer water?" she said, casting a glance at the Succubus and then rolling her eyes. "And, god, please take off that dress. I can see your boobs and it's making me uncomfortable because I know they really aren't yours."

Finally, Beatrice, her lips curled smugly at the edges, let out a snort. "Wasn't expecting me?" she asked with a purr. Her eyes followed Celeste as the brunette turned her back to her and squatted.

Her face contorted in befuddlement. "...W-what are you doing?" the Succubus asked, clearly flustered.

Celeste, unbuttoning her pants, looked over her shoulder and raised her eyebrows as she betrayed a look of surprise. "Oh, you're still here?" she asked, completely blasé. "Well, I guess I might as well ask you to escort me to the bathroom."

Beatrice crossed her arms, still piqued at her behavior. "...There aren't any down here! Just go in your cell."

The brunette shrugged and stood up again, pulling back up her trousers. "I don't feel like going anymore."

Unable to follow her farce, Beatrice stammered over her words for a moment before she was able to get a clear question out. "What are you getting at!?" she demanded. "Are you trying to piss me off...?"

"Yeah, kind of," Celeste replied, eyeing her from the back of the cell. She leaned against the wall. "I mean, you did want me killed."

"Well, it's not working."

"Fair enough," Celeste shrugged again. "...So why are you here?"

Beatrice straightened her back, trying to take Celeste's short pause from her insolent sassing as an opportunity to recover her composure and resume her pretense. She pursed her lips. "General Bion couldn't make it, so I have to check up on you instead to make sure you aren't plotting anything."

Celeste dropped her arms to her sides and let out a sigh. "Ugh. Of course I wasn't plotting anything. I don't believe your allies were dense enough to believe everything I told them." She looked briefly at her nails, and then refocused on the Succubus. "Where did you find that bunch anyway?"