Chapter 33
The Meeting
Celestia stirs and grumbles a little as the morning sun greets her with its bright and cheery embrace. The smell of fresh-baked goods from the bakery below bring a wide smile to her face. She opens her eyes to find herself still lying on the couch and wrapped in a thin blanket.
“Blaisy?” she croaks as she strains to look about her living room.
“I'm here, Lesty,” comes his reply. He sits at the table, thumbing through the ancient rune tome.
Wrapping the blanket tightly around herself, she stands and drapes herself around the warm man with the glowing reddish-orange irises.
“Good morning,” she whispers softly.
Blaise smiles as her cheek presses against his. “Feeling better?”
She nods a little. “Anything interesting in your old book?” she asks.
He shrugs. “Nothing I haven't looked at a hundred times already, although I am noticing a few interesting things here and there that I would like to study a little deeper when I can find the time.”
Celestia is silent as she watches Blaise thumb through a few more pages, then stands and begins fiddling with his unruly hair.
“We have to figure this out. I can't go on wondering if there are more of those horrible Darklings that are going to try and kill us again tonight. I feel like I'm going to have some sort of a breakdown every time I think about it.”
Blaise feels her hands trembling a little as she speaks. He rises and takes her hands in his own.
“I know. This whole thing is absolutely horrible. I've sent for someone that might be able to help us. Why don't I heat up a bath for you to soak in? Maybe it will calm your mind a little?”
She nods and looks into his eyes. The snivelling little child of a man was growing up a little more each day it seemed. She liked it when he offered to care for her like this.
Before long, she finds herself lounging in a steaming tub of water. She breathes in the vapor, her worries and anxiety ebbing further and further away with every exhale.
A muffled knock at the front door catches her attention. She hears Blaise greet someone and asks them to enter. With a little grunt, she returns to reality and reaches for her clothing and rune ring.
“Thank you for coming, I'm sure Lady Celestia will be joining us in a few...” Blaise trails off as Celestia enters the room, her eyes blazing a frigid blue.
Captain Ramsys stands and gives a little bow. “My Lady.”
Celestia is taken aback a little to see the Captain in her home, but recovers quickly and returns the salutation.
“Captain,” Blaise begins. “We were attacked by another Darkling last night. We were able to overcome it with aid from a friend and look upon its demonic face. The creature vanished into smoke shortly after it perished, however.”
“I'm afraid there are more of these Darkling creatures! And I'm afraid they're going to try and kill Blaisy again and anyone else that gets in their way!” Celestia cries out. The level of fear in her voice surprises even herself.
“Blast it,” Ramsys curses to himself.
Blaise and Celestia exchange glances. Captain Ramsys seemed to know more than he was letting on.
“What are you not telling us, Captain?” says Blaise, his eyes glowing a little brighter.
“Yes, there are more of them,” the Captain of the guard says quietly. “There were two the night I came to check on your condition, Lady Celestia, when you lay injured at the home of the old Pastor.”
“You knew this, and didn't tell us?” Blaise stands, his voice rising in volume.
“Yes. I fought with them, but was overcome and rendered unconscious. When I awoke a short time later, the Pastor was dead and you had been taken.”
“So that's why we found that carving of yours under the bed then?” muses Blaise.
Captain Ramsys smiles. “Yes, a memento from my military days. It's the coat of arms from my old regiment. I still have the placard above my office.”
“Why didn't you immediately raise an alarm?” Celestia questions, somewhat annoyed.
“Thunderfall Kingdom has many enemies and many situations that threaten ruin almost on a daily basis. The only way our citizens can continue their healthy, happy existence is to not tell them about it - not unless they are about to find out about it anyway.”
Blaise clears his throat. “Well, clearly we know all about it. Has the King been made aware of the situation?”
Ramsys shakes his head. “Until last night, it appeared to be an isolated incident. The business with the Dark Lady and her realm took precedence.”
“So we're no closer to solving this mystery now than we've ever been? Arg! I just want to smash something right now!” screams Celestia, the air immediately around her becoming frozen and beginning to crystallize.
“Actually,” Ramsys starts, “we do have a suspect, but it's too early to disclose any specifics. He's a very powerful individual in more ways than one, so we're using a very light touch at the moment.”
Blaise ponders everything he's just learned, then slowly sits up straight. His eyes widen a little as the pieces start to fall into place for him.
“I can take the both of you into protective custody if you wish. Our prison cells aren't overly comfortable, but you'll have round-the-clock protection.”
“Thank you, Captain, but that won't be necessary. I think I've got a better idea.”
…
Scarlett finishes off the expensive bottle of wine in her hand with a little belch; her feet, now clad in designer boots, rest on top of the table. The uptown tavern was quite a bit more luxurious than The Severed Arm, but alcohol was alcohol and she was happy to consume it whenever and wherever she could.
“Looks like you've moved up a couple notches on the old social slider, Scar,” Celestia grins as she stands over the weary-looking redhead.
“One of the fringe benefits of keeping a socialite’s bed warm at night,” she says with a little scowl. “Speaking of keeping beds warm at night, how are you and...”
“I'm glad I finally found you, I've been looking all afternoon. Tell me more about Styles,” Celestia interrupts.
Scarlett gives another little scowl. “He's a glorious, pompous fool that the entire universe revolves around.” She gives a long sigh. “But, he's my glorious, pompous fool, so I guess I'm lucky.”
“How long have you known him? Where does he keep his rune item?”
Scarlett narrows her slightly blurry eyes a little and sizes up the beautiful blonde standing over her.
“Lots of interest in my man all of a sudden, Celly. What's wrong? Did you finally give that skinny little whiner the boot? Or did he fall in love with the very next set of legs that walked past him this morning?”
The air temperature in the bar drops several degrees as Celestia sets her jaw. “My man and I are getting along very well, actually. We're making some plans for the future right now in fact.”
“Well... ain't that nice. I'm so happy for the two of you.” Her sarcasm was thick enough to be cut with a sword.
“I need another...” Scarlett mumbles as she blinks over to the wall and slides out another bottle of wine. “Put it on my account, keeper,” she calls out to the attendant at the bar.
She blinks back to her table and starts pulling on the cork with her teeth.
Celestia grabs the bottle from her and freezes it to the table. “I think you've had enough, Scar. Please answer my earlier questions.”
Scarlett jumps to her feet and stands nose to nose with her girlfriend, a look of disdain in her eye.
“I don't feel like answering your stupid questions, Blondie. Why don't you run home to your precious Rune Crafter and get on with living happily ever after, OK? Now leave me the Frozen Hells alone!”
Scarlett tries to brush past her, but the chilling blonde catches her by the arm and muscles her back in front of her.
The redhead blinks behind Celestia and roughly shoves her across the table she previously sat at.
“I said leave me alone, you cheap copy!” she shouts and gives Celestia a kick to her backside.
“You're drunk, Scar! Just calm the Frozen Hells down!” Celestia shouts back.
A handful of high-class afternoon patrons in the tavern sense the escalation between the Rune Bearers and quickly make their way to the nearest exits.
“Shut up!” Scarlett screams and lands a stinging slap to Celestia's cheek.
The blonde barely feels it as she reaches out to restrain the redhead. She only grabs air however as Scarlett blinks behind her again and kicks her in the kidney.
Celestia arches her back in pain as she falls to one knee and curses.
“I hate you! I hate you!” Scarlett screams as she picks up a bar stool and raises it high above her head.
Celestia manages to raise her hand toward the other woman. An instant later, Scarlett is pelted with hard snowballs to her face and midsection that knock her off her feet.
The blonde struggles to catch her breath as the pain in her kidney begins to abate. The berry-dyed redhead sits up and brushes the ice and snow from her face.
“You want answers, hon? How about we take off our runes and you see if you're woman enough to beat it out of me? Huh? Or are you just as scared as your whiny little boyfriend?”
Celestia stares daggers at her girlfriend for a long moment before reaching down and plucking the ring from her finger. Scarlett gives her a grim smile before reaching into her boot and snapping off her anklet.
“Come on, Celly. Let's dance.” whispers the redhead as she launches herself at the blonde.