Sudden Disappearance

“Wake up, Miss Astalette.”

Liel awoke to the sudden chill of the air in the inn’s spare room, glancing back and forth at the waving shadows in her room. Moonlight streamed through the open curtains, bathing the room in faint light, and so she could see clearly that no one but her sat within.

“You were poisoned.” The voice echoed out from behind her.

Liel’s head shot backwards, seeking the owner of the voice, but the room remained empty.

“I’m behind you.”

Liel turned her head back around, and saw a man with curly iridescent hair sitting on the short wardrobe across from the bed. He had thick strips of high-quality cloth wrapped around his eyes, a pitch-black blindfold. Yet, despite that, he seemed to stare adamantly at Liel, as if he knew exactly where she was. He held a leisurely pose on the wardrobe, both hands on its edge, with a leg crossed over the other, and a playful grin had curled up his lips.

“What are you doing in my room?”

“Why not ask who I am first? Why is your first question to ask why, rather than who?”

Liel reached towards her bedside, slowly drawing her blade from its sheath as she stood up. She dashed forward, thrusting the blade ahead of her at the mysterious blindfolded figure. Just as the blade was to make contact with his skin, the image of the man shattered into a thousand pieces. The mirror above the wardrobe had been broken by her sword, the man revealed to be a mere illusion.

Her eyes furrowed, staring at the pieces of the mirror on the floor, which reflected her tired, grey-skinned expression, albeit fragmented.

“And you attack me without ascertaining my purpose? I thought Astalettes were supposed to be calculating. Maybe the poison has taken your mind, as well?”

Liel turned back around, facing the bedside table behind her. On its surface, there was a much smaller mirror, reflecting the same image of the man.

“Alright, so who are you, then?”

The man seemingly didn’t hear her, or at least, had ignored her in her entirety, continuing with his rant. “I had thought that with little Rhylesia’s help, I could get through to you. But even now, you’re so cold to me… it’s saddening, little Astalette.”

Liel’s gaze trembled. ‘Rhylesia? Lord Rhylesia? Why is this strange being speaking of a God now? How does he know who I am? Why did he say I was poisoned?’ She bit at her lip, forcibly calming herself as the rune on her cheek shimmered. She let out a sharp sigh, her gaze focusing on the man in the mirror.

As her mood settled, and she fully awakened, she connected all the pieces of the occurrence, and there was only one answer remaining in her mind. She fell to one knee, bowing her head as she placed a hand against her chest. “Lord Ciseus, why have you come to this place? Do you have a matter for me to attend to?”

Reverence was a matter in dealing with one’s Lord, but Liel’s mind was addled by fatigue.

It wasn’t an uncommon event in which a God would bestow their servant with information or a special task suited to them. It was their prerogative to do so, after all. The more troubling aspect of his appearance was the fact that all of those events spelled of a greater danger. She had only come to Estelle to take care of the matter regarding the Harvest’s Blessing. If Lord Ciseus had appeared before her in this place of all places, it meant that the Harvest’s Blessing was not the only task that she had to accomplish.

Lord Ciseus nodded his head, smirking deviantly. “That’s right. There’s definitely something afoot here.”

Liel’s body shook suddenly, a chill rushing through her body. She had read about such things in a textbook of hers, but never had she suspected she would experience it herself. Of course, as the Blind Deity, Lord Ciseus could not see himself. It was the eyes of his servants that he borrowed in order to glean information about certain matters, and it was eyes that held the thoughts of others. If that was the case, then even her own thoughts could be gleaned by this being.

She abated that sudden anxiety, the rune on her cheek working overtime to preserve a calm state of mind. Instead, she chose to question his previous statement. “Alright, if something’s going on here, have you come to task me with something? What did you mean when you said I was poisoned? Were you just playing a cruel joke, Lord?”

“Why would I joke about something like that?” Lord Ciseus shrugged. “You were poisoned. That was what first alerted me to the matter here. I don't think you're in any danger. You've got good blood in you. Of course, all eyes are my eyes, and so it only took a moment to unravel the fact that there is definitely something wrong in this place. As for tasking you with something, I don’t particularly have anything in mind for you to do.”

Liel’s eyes twitched as she fell against the side of her bed, looking up at the mirror. “Should you really be doing these things yourself? What’s the point of having me as a servant in this place if you come yourself? Once again, I ask you Lord, why did you come here?”

Lord Ciseus let out a curt chuckle as he raised both hands, shrugging.

“Why wouldn’t I come here? I get quite bored. I thought the next generation of the Astalettes might entertain me. I also wondered why you weren’t using my eyes. You could have seen those Hands yourself when you were playing around with the two Estuary twins.”

As the conversation continued on, Liel felt her head begin to boil. It was maddening to be so exhausted yet have to hold a modicum of respect. She thought she might just abandon it entirely and accept the punishment. “The Hands? Eyes? Are you talking about the same eyes that those attendants have?”

“Similar, perhaps. But my eyes are the gift I give to those who follow me. Don’t you know all servants gain our blessing? Why did you never question this fact?”

“I didn’t care. I didn’t choose to follow you because you promised your blessing. I chose you because you wouldn’t look at me. I guess I was wrong in doing so…” Liel sighed, placing her head against her knees. ‘Ah, now I truly am maddened. Why am I talking like this to the Lord? Why did he even visit me, anyway?’

“You speak quite openly to a Deity. Don’t you fear repercussion?”

“I feel as if the danger of disrespect is shown more openly by the Meisters than you do right now. So, will you kill me, Lord?” Liel pinched at her nose bridge, her head pulsating. “Don’t you know that you’ve interrupted my sleep? I don’t have enough energy to deal with people, much less the Lord I’ve promised myself to.”

“You make it sound quite degenerate when you speak of your vows in that way.” Lord Ciseus grinned mischievously. “I won’t kill you. Do you think I’m that petty? I thought you were a learned woman, a trained woman, but even now you’re letting that poison affect your personality…”

“Please, get to the point, my Lord. I’ll kill myself in the morning, after I’ve gotten sufficient sleep and realised my wrongs.” Liel buried her head further into her knees. ‘This isn’t the type of person I am. Why is this Lord so infuriating? That grin is so maddening… why aren’t there stories of the other Deities beating Lord Ciseus with canes? He definitely makes them angry, too…’

“The child has disappeared.” Lord Ciseus spoke as his grin faded, leaning back against his hands lazily.

Liel’s eyes widened, raising her head. “The child? You mean little Isabelle?”

Lord Ciseus nodded in response. Without hesitation, Liel dashed towards the door, but Ciseus called out towards her. “It won’t do you any good to do anything now. It’s night time.”

“So?” Liel’s tone had grown a bit angered, annoyed even. Of course, she had been speaking to the Grand Being she had sworn her life to. But his personality seemed… infuriating.

“Goodness, the poison really did hinger your mind.” Lord Ciseus tapped on the side of his head. “There’s a curfew in place. Go tomorrow, instead.”

Liel shook her head. “No, I’ll still go. If the guard tries to stop me, I’ll tell him of what has happened. Can he really refuse a Crusader?” After realising this fact, she stood up from where she had been sitting, grabbing her coat and blade as she dashed through the door of the inn’s spare room.

As the mirror image of the Blind Deity watched Liel dash through the hallway, his brows furrowed. “Really, little Astalette… I didn’t expect you would be as brazen as ‘her’…”

Liel dashed down the stairs of the inn, spotting Elienoire sitting at the table to the side of the room. The inn keeper sat beside her, continuously handing her fresh rags as she bawled into them, her eyes red and cheeks tear-strewn.

"Miss, are you doing all right? I heard of little Isabelle's disappearance..."

Elienoire glanced upwards towards Liel, tears continuing to slip down her face. "Ah, my Lady, please help me find Isabelle! You'll be able to find her, won't you...?"

Liel placed a hand on the woman's head in an attempt to soothe her. However, she knew herself that this was something she was historically bad at. "Miss, I need to know when you last saw her, and where you last saw her. I'll have to try and trace her steps from that point. Can you tell me all you know?"

Seeing Liel act in such a serious capacity, Elienoire felt her trembling heart relax slightly. Of course, such a distinguished person would be able to find her daughter. Elienoire nodded her head, sitting back in her chair, Liel taking the seat across from her. She turned her head slightly towards the inn keeper. "Miss, would you mind pouring us some tea? I had a long night; I would like to wake up a little more..."

The inn keeper nodded her head. "Yes, Lady. Right away."

As the inn keeper disappeared into the back room of the inn once more, Liel began to converse with Elienoire. This wasn't just to glean information from the woman, but also to calm her down. If Liel could get her to focus more on the act of searching for her daughter as opposed to her disappearance, she might be able to calm Elienoire down. Being distraught would only further the possibility for mistakes in the information. One could forget something crucial, withhold something by accident, or even forge false memories unconsciously.

She needed Elienoire absolutely calm.

"At the edge of town, where the Hallflower Festival was held... that's where I last saw her."

Liel reached out her hand, offering it to Elienoire with a stern expression. "Then, let's go find her."

"But what about the curfew?"

"I'm a Crusader. I don't have a curfew."

Reluctantly, Elienoire trailed behind Liel as they exited the inn, walking down the main road of Estelle.

She spotted the lazy guard who was definitely supposed to be at the gate leaning against a building, running up to him. He immediately turned around to face her, this time brandishing a large spear. The guard struck the side of the lantern hanging on his belt just like before, illuminating the dark street, spotting the two women.

Liel’s brows furrowed. ‘Why is he armed now? Is it due to to the disappearance of Isabelle?’

The guard's eyes filled with suspicion as he stared at the two. “My Lady, you really shouldn’t be out at this time. You know about the curfew already. I would hope you would adhere to our town’s rules, even despite your position.”

“Are you searching for the little girl, Isabelle? Is that why you aren’t guarding the gate?”

The guard’s eyes widened slightly. “There’s been another disappearance?”

‘He doesn’t know of the disappearance? Then why did he arm himself? Is he expecting something else to happen, or is this how he usually is?’

"There has. I plan on investigating this matter myself. This is the girl's mother, so I plan on taking her with me to look around. I assume this won't be a problem."

The guard's face visibly twisted under the lamplight. "I would prefer you followed our rules, my Lady..."

Liel's gaze grew cold, glancing up towards the guard with a fiercity befitting a person who had trained their entire life to die. "Will you stop me?"

The guard's entire body seemed to tremble. "No, my Lady. It won't be a problem. The sun will rise shortly, anyway..."

"Good. There'll be no need to watch over me. You should return to your post."

Liel turned away from the guard, continuing to walk down the street, Elienoire trailing behind her as the guard watched them fade into the distance.

"Damn Paladin..."