The smell of copper lingered in the damp musty air.
The scent of death permeated the entire basement. Sypha and Trevor, with Y/N's help were able to vanquish all of the night creatures.
Now all that was left was to leave the nauseating basement and talk to the Judge.
The trio quickly made their way out of the basement and Y/N took in a deep breath of air.
She frowned at the lingering scent on her clothes, "Remind me to never go into a basement infested with night creatures ever again."
"Noted," Sypha's lips pulled up into a warm smile.
"Judge?"
At the sound of Trevor's voice, Y/N turned her attention to the body in front of her.
Laid in his own pool of blood was the Judge.
Sypha knelt down at his side, "What happened to you?"
"Doesn't matter," he grunted and covered his wound, "I've killed Sala."
Trevor looked around, "Where is he?"
"In the woods, under the apple tree," he coughed up blood, "Find me my knife."
The healer found the weapon cast aside on the ground and gave it to the dying man, "Why?"
"I'm going to see that bastard in hell and kill him when he arrives," he gasped before wheezing in pain and with his final breath he muttered, "Burn my house down."
Sypha stood up from her kneeled position and looked over at Trevor and Y/N.
The trio begin walking the path he described and eventually stumbled upon a large spiked pit.
"I think we've found Sala," Trevor muttered as he looked at the grisly scene.
"Look at the bones that are under him," Y/N tilted her head, "Animal bones?"
They began walking to the Judge's home, "Y/N? Did the Judge ever seem... off to you?"
Y/N frowned at Trevor's question, "I had not known him for very long but he never seemed to be off-putting or insane."
Soon the triad reached the front of the man's home, one of the few buildings that were still intact.
Sypha crossed her arms, "Should we really burn down one of the few remaining buildings of this town?"
Y/N uncrossed her arms, "It was his final request. It would be wrong not to honor it."
"I agree, but we should torch the place after we've explored it," Trevor stared at the house with a frown.
Sypha placed her hands on her hips with a slow shake of her head, "Wow, Trevor. Raiding a dead man's house, this is a new low even for you."
The hunter raised his hands in defense, "I want to know what he'd been hiding behind that locked door," he leaned closer to her with a cheeky smile, "And I know that you are at least a bit curious."
"I am not opposed to a little exploration," Y/N chimed in while looking at the house, "especially when the Judge seems like such a shady character."
"Y/N!"
After a few moments of joint laughter, the trio walked into the home. Trevor grabbed the key from the Judge's desk and went to the locked door behind the curtain.
Nothing could prepare the group for the atrocity that lay hidden behind the door.
On columns laid various shoes. Shoes that were small, as if belonging to a child.
The healer watched as the color drained from her companion's face, "What... What does this mean?" she pleaded for an answer.
"Those bones didn't belong to animals," Sypha whispered.
Trevor's eyes narrowed as he spotted the familiar pair of red shoes, "They belonged to children."
The young woman's eyes widened in terror, "He was-- He killed--"
The Speaker rushed out of the home and into the village streets. The hunter swiftly followed after her. Y/N slowly walked out of the house as well.
She watched as Trevor consoled Sypha.
"I'll take care of this," a flame flickered in the palms of transmutator's hand. She walked over to the house and lit it on fire, watching as the flames licked up the wood and everything inside.
When she turned back to the couple she saw them watching the flames in silence.
🧭
The bumping of the wagon was a feeling that Y/N was very accustomed to after nearly a week on the road. However, one thing that she was not accustomed to during her trip was the presence of companions.
A few days on the road isn't enough time to seriously get into a routine but it did provide her with some things to expect.
The silence was comfortable between her and the couple but it was still silence. She had so many questions to ask them and was looking forward to catching up with the duo that she hadn't seen in months.
She felt as if it was selfish of her to try and garner their attention after such a disturbing scene but she missed them.
"When did you both arrive in Lindenfield?" the healer broke the silence.
"We arrived nearly a week ago," Sypha muttered, her eyes missing the usual shine in them.
The young woman nodded, "I see."
"How was your time in the castle with Alucard?" Trevor changed the subject, "Is he still the brooding vampire we all know and love."
"I would not call him brooding," she laughed, "He is in better spirits than when you both left. We would wake up at dawn and cook together before picking a place in the castle to clean."
His eyes widened, "You're still cleaning the castle."
"No, we finished about a month ago," a smile came to her face when she thought about how she felt when they swept away the last pile of rubble, "We lead a simple life and it reminded me of a better time. A time when I lived with Hector in our cabin."
"How is your search for Hector coming along?" the Speaker chimed in.
"Oh," she exclaimed with a even brighter smile, "I believe I have found where he is being held or where he is staying."
Sypha raised her eyebrows, "You have?"
"Yes, I am actually on my way to go find him," she dug into her bag and pulled out a familiar coin. She stared at the piece of metal fondly, "He is in Styria. A large castle in Styria owned by the Council of Sisters."
It was Trevor's turn to raise his brows, "The 'Council of Sisters'?"
The healer slowly nodded, "Yes, the Council of Sisters. Why?"
"To put it simply, those women are considered vampire royalty," he tightened his hold on the reigns, "They are a pretty big deal."
"I have read enough on those women to know exactly the type of people they are, the type of group they are," she placed the coin back into her bag, "I'm not going into this blind, Trevor."
"Would you like us to come with you?" Sypha offered with a small smile, "Three is better than one."
Y/N huffed, "Are you offering because you want to help me or because you believe that I can not do this on my own?"
The Speaker grimaced, "What do you mean?"
The young woman crossed her arms with her lips pulled into a deep frown, "Both of you always try to stop me when I try to fight," she sighed and looked away from the couple, "Is it because I am not a capable fighter in your eyes?"
"No!" the hunter was quick to diminish her worries, "That's not the reason."
She narrowed her eyes, "Then why do you both try to stop me?"
Sypha averted her eyes, "It's because... we care about you. A lot."
She widened her eyes, "Oh?"
"I fell in love with you during our time in the Belmont Hold," the Speaker smiled, "When I taught you how to start a flame."
"I started feeling something long before the Belmont Hold," Trevor chuckled, "Seeing you stand up for that old man was really something."
Y/N averted her eyes with a bashful smile, "Wow, I uh-- I don't know what to say."
Sypha widened her eyes in realization, "Sorry, it was not our intention to put you on the spot. It's completely fine if you don't return our feelings."
Trevor nodded with a reassuring smile, "The last thing we want to do is make you uncomfortable."
"No. No," she hastily waved her hands, "I am not uncomfortable. However, having two insanely beautiful people confess their love to you when you feel the same way is a lot."
She looked away from the couple, "I have been conflicted with my feelings as of late. A lot of things have been happening over the past months."
As the night went on the trio talked about the situation in length and came to a consensus. They would explore this chapter of their lives and see where it would take them.
With their feelings out in the open, the healer, the speaker, and the hunter shared kisses under the moonlight.