Stolen Blood

Eyes wide open, Mira keeps staring at us. It takes her a while to retrieve the ability to move and speak. As she does, she points a finger at Tyffeon and me.

“You! Don’t touch Amako. She’s under my responsibility, and I didn’t give my consent for her to consume the night with a man yet!”

“Consume…” I mutter, embarrassed.

“Yet?!” He frowns, rising to his feet. “Are you saying that, in the end, you dare to consider it? Have you that little respect for the Saintess?!”

    Straightening up, I cast a glance at Tyffeon, confused. When did he even learn the meaning of the word respect? Does this not sound kind of exotic from his lips…

“Huhh? You…” Mira begins, lost.

“Don’t worry Mira, it’s just Tyffeon. Don’t mind the words which come out of his mouth.”

    The main interested glares at me.

“Tyffeon?” She repeats. “Ahh! You already spoke of him before. This means… The customer who came to… it’s him? Does this mean… this is your boyfriend?”

“No.” We instantly reply in a single voice, our tone not letting the slightest hint of doubt even in the eyes of the greatest shipper who may exist.

    Tyffeon shoots me a dirty look the moment which follows, as if my statement has displeased him. Why though… For once that I’m not messing with him and simply stating the truth!

“Ohh. Then it’s fine.” Mira comments, kind of lost. The poor catgirl.

    The misunderstanding being dissipated, I realise that her presence may actually be quite useful.

“Mira, there’s someone I need to speak to. Can you introduce me to Timoria?”

“Timoria?” She blinks, surprised by my request. “This shouldn’t be difficult, especially since there are fewer customers lately. But, why do you want to see her?” She wonders before turning a glance at Tyffeon. “Oh, is this for-”

“I would appreciate if you refrained from letting out of your mouth every dubious thought which crosses your even more dubious mind.” Tyffeon cuts her off in his very own way. Cute.

    The unfortunate Beastwoman’s ears perk up, not accustomed to this basic amount of affectionate words that I receive daily.

“Nyyaahh?!”

“Well, well. I’m glad to see how good friends you’re gonna be.” I stand up to my feet, making a few steps towards the door. “Can we go now?”

    Mira doesn’t wait to be asked twice for it as she already steps out of the room, nodding.

“Follow me, then.”

    The moment I reach the threshold though, I pause.

“Just let me a couple of minutes.”

    As I close the door, I turn back at Tyffeon who’s standing up in turn. I lower my voice as I approach him.

“Can I ask you one thing?”

***

    Seated at her desk, she gazes down at the phial she rolls between her fingers. Inside it, a crimson, opaque liquid.

“What should I do… There’s so little to collect lately.”

    A concerned expression on her delicate features, the frowning somehow makes her look even prettier despite the sadness in her emerald green eyes.

“If I take more from them, this may hurt them… But…” She hesitates, glancing at her reflection in the mirror.

    Her smooth raven hair falls over her shoulder, teasing the generous curves of her chest.

“Maybe if I take just a little bit, a little droplet more…”

    A knock against her door.

    She wasn’t expecting anyone! Perhaps she was lucky, perhaps an unscheduled customer has come tonight.

    Quickly, swiftly, she hides the phial inside her drawer, careful not to break it. She pushes it against the other crimson phials. Making sure she’s presentable, brushing inexistent dust off of her cow ears, Timoria rises from her stool, opening her door.

“Yes, who- Huhh?” She trails off, tilting her head to the side at the sight of the two pretty girls in front of her.

***

“Good evening Timoria!” Mira begins cheerfully. “I’ve come with a friend, she wished she could speak to you! I promise you she’s kind. Are you busy?”

    The moment I see her long black hair, I recall my first night here. Is she the one I saw that night… when Awa got lost?

“Hello, my name is Amako.” I smile at Timoria, her soft features betraying her concern.

    She’s not accustomed to seeing that many people at once, as the hands she keeps tightly against her lavish breasts suggest.

    Numerous bracelets cover her wrists. Made of plaited leather for most of them, they add some colour to her pale complexion. She wears a matching skirt and top covered with floral patterns, the latter short enough to let her belly be visible. Her large belt seems to be made out of true flowers.

“Mira?” The cowmaiden glances at her, at me. “Umm, I haven’t anything more planned tonight. But, mmm…”

    Facing Mira’s eagerness, Timoria doesn’t find the words to refuse and steps aside so we can enter the room.

    The decoration is simple, yet it feels like she put effort into that, ribbons made of the finest fabrics hooked here and there, enlivening her room. Maybe too much effort. As if it is made more for the possible guests that she might welcome inside instead of herself.

“Thank you for letting us in, Timoria.” I begin, approaching an opened chest full of dresses of every colour. “Dang! I’ve never seen so many clothes, they seem so fancy!”

    Following my moves, the cowmaiden retreats to her desk, placing herself right in front of it.

“They are gifts I received…” She explains, her hands intertwined, fingers fidgeting.

“Yes, Timoria has a lot of admirers,” Mira chimes in, “more than one regularly returns to have the chance to see her pretty face!”

“Heeeeh.”

“Oh. Not that many come to see me lately. They are… fewer and fewer.”

“Does this worry you?” I ask.

    Her shoulders stiffen.

“Worried? I’m worried about our city, yes.” She averts her gaze.

“About the city?” I echo.

    Lingering near the fabric-filled chest, I pick up a silk stole and step closer to Timoria. Once in front of her, I throw the stole around her shoulders, her green eyes drifting back to me.

“Or about someone in the city?”

    For a moment, she falls silent, as if unable to utter anything.

“Why have you come to see me?”

    I cast a side glance at Mira, who seems pretty puzzled.

“Mira, I’ve already stolen enough of your time, you must be needed at work.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not like it’s crowded tonight or something.” She genuinely replies.

“Sure, but still, Somnuma might check on you. I would really hate it if you got scolded because of me.”

“Mmm…” She narrows her golden eyes. “Oh! I get it! I’ll leave you for now. Let’s go to the mist bath later, the three of us!”

    She waves before disappearing into the corridor.

    A smile sneaks over my features. Mira truly does love these mist baths. Even I have come to appreciate these simple moments of respite.

    Unfortunately, this will probably not happen again.

“You may or not have already heard of me before, but I am the Saintess.”

“The Honourable Saintess?” Timoria blinks.

“Honourable Saintess, broken lucky charm, or lost child. Oh, indecent woman sometimes. ‘Depends on the affinity.” I offer her a smug smile. “Call me whatever you want.”

“O-Okay…”

“Okay.” I echo. “So, as you may know, a Saintess sometimes has visions of the future. Well, in my case, I don’t only have visions of the future.” I pause. “Let’s be blunt. I know what you’ve all have been doing all of this time. I know that this is a gloomy time, but this has to cease…”

    While I say these words, I reach behind her, my fingers sneaking into the drawer, still holding her gaze. When I feel the cold contact of the glass, I grasp a phial and draw it between us.

“…or you’ll harm more than you try to protect.”

    Her pupils narrow. Her fingers clutch the desk behind her. As far as it is possible to get paler than she already is, she does it to a commendable extent. A bit more and I’d be truly concerned about her blood flow.

“It is necessary. We need to keep collecting it or she’ll weaken. She’ll weaken too much… W-we have no other choice!” She stammers.

    Slowly, I shake my head. That isn’t the right choice to make, and if they keep on this path, it’s the whole kingdom which will be endangered.

    Their sin is already about to consume all of them…

“What is done can’t be undone, but I’m not here to condemn you. Listen, it’s still possible to avoid Ard Ramalia being destroyed.” I reach out to take her hand in mine. “Timoria, let’s go see your ruler together. This would be better for everyone.”

    Frantically, she begins to shake her head, afraid of this possibility.

“No,… no, no, no…”

    I hold her hand tighter, hoping that she’ll sense I’m not her enemy. The last thing I want is to see her go wild and commit a crime out of despair.

“Don’t she love all of her folks? She would listen to you. I can promise it would be alright. What about it? We can go together.”

“I…”

“Isn’t it better for her to learn about it now, rather than when you all run out of blood to collect?”

    Her expression fills with concern. She remains silent for a while, weighing the alternatives she doesn’t have.

“Fine…”

    When we leave her room, a certain catgirl suddenly straightens from the wall she has been leant against.

“W-where are you going?!” Mira asks, seemingly worried.

    I glance at her. Has she overheard everything we said? Not that it matters, there’s no reason for her to stand in our way. Though… I’d prefer if she stayed far away from the upcoming events.

“Don’t worry Mira. We need to speak with your ruler, so please, stay here.”

    Before she can protest, I urge Timoria to leave.

    Once we get out of the establishment, we walk side to side through the crowd now mainly composed of Beastmen rather than visitors.

    Heading to Kitsune’s place in silence, we haven’t gone midway when a silhouette across our path forces us to stop.

“Sorry, but I can’t let you go any further.” Somnuma utters as I lock eyes with her.

    The following moment, I feel my consciousness vanish. Letting me fall asleep to the ground.