Chapter 3 ~ A Mausoleum of Shadows

I could smell the scent of fresh bread, meats and cheese – along with other various fruits and snacks. Opening up my coffin, I took a moment to stretch and get myself awake. On my desk was a small basket from where the scent was coming from. As I sat down in my chair, the sight of a piece of parchment caught my eye. Written in a fine penmanship of black ink was a note from Lily stating that she prepared everything in the basket, including an unopened bottle of vintage red wine. She wrote that once I was up and dressed to let her know.

After taking a moment to get dressed and ready for our picnic, I made my way up the stairs and opened the door to her bedroom. Upon opening the door I was greet with a sight that froze me in place. In the room before my eyes was Lily standing in nothing but a pair of lacy black underwear, her flawless pale skin on full display. My mind drew a blank as to what to say or do. She smiled while continuing to keep her chest covered with her arm. Her cheeks were flustered a heavy shade of red.

“Would you mind waiting for a bit, please?”

“R-Right…”

Closing the door, I leaned against the wall and took a second to catch my breath. I had seen her in various types of clothes before but seeing her in her underwear was a first. Looking out at my skirt I checked to see if anything was showing. Even though I was undead and it was impossible to feeling anything down there, surely something was bound to be noticed after seeing someone as beautiful as her in such as state. Yet, there was nothing. Being a vampire certainly had great strengths but it also had an assortment of drawbacks. Placing the basket on the table, I waited for her to exit the bedroom. Upon hearing the door open, she was standing there in the doorway dressed in a white frilly top with a lighter purple top tied and layered around it. Her blue pleated short skirt complemented the rest of her outfit.

“I made some sandwiches, added some fruit and other snacks into the basket,” she said as she sat down in the chair across from me.

She opened up the basket and checked over everything she had packed.

“Do we have everything?” I asked.

“Yeah. I just need to put my shoes on and we can go,” she said with a cheerful smile.

Placing her ankle-length boots on the floor in front of her, Lily slowly drew her thigh-high white stockings up her legs. With a smug expression as if she was trying to tease me, she slipped her petite foot into her boot – followed soon after by the other one. Jumping to her feet, she struck a cute pose.

“So, how do I look?”

“Words cannot describe your beauty.”

Lily giggled as she grabbed the basket.

“I think you’re just trying to avoid the question.”

“Maybe, but I do believe it to be true. Your beauty is beyond comparison to anyone.”

“Other than your sister, right?” Lily teased as she stuck out her tongue in a playful manner.

“Don’t say it like that. It will sound like I have a sister complex or something.”

“I know, I’m just teasing. You care about her dearly. Don’t worry, I can understand.”

My little sister was the only person who was close to me for the longest time. I did not talk to many people growing up and often, I was always alone. She was there to keep me company and ensure my brain was stimulated with complex puzzles and games of chess. The two of us did not have many friends due to our failure to understand human relationships and connections. I remember that things started to change when we learned about what our father and mother truly did in the shadows. My sister and I quickly learned about the Shadow Roses and how they operated. It was not long before the two of us became tools for the guild to use. Somehow, it was the perfect line of work for the two of us and within only a short time, the two of us became the greatest tools in the guild’s toolkit.

In my line of work, I had to learn various skills from how to write and speak in other languages to basic farming and herb gathering. As shadows of the darkness, common knowledge in different fields was required. It was this type of work that kept my mind sharp and never made life boring, my sister also felt the same way. The two of us enjoyed the abyss of the night and its crimson hue that stained our dead hearts. Yet, we did have our own interests and likes. I enjoyed medicine and mixing herbs to create new concoctions, my sister enjoyed the theatre and dramatic arts.

I loved my sister, she was my family after all. Yet, there were times where she claimed I was too overprotective. Admittedly, it was true. She was the only true friend and family I had which did not see me as a tool to be use and discarded. Still, she did not fault me for it and knew that no matter what, I cared about her.

“So, where should we have our picnic?” Lily asked with a smile.

“We can figure that out as we go.”

Helping Lily down the stairs, I ensured all the doors were locked before the two of us headed out. The light from the moon shone down while the silence felt peaceful. I felt as if I was back in the shadows of the abyss. It was a feeling that calmed me. This night was unable to compare though to the human grabbing onto my arm.

The two of us continued to walk for some time until we found a spot on a hilltop with a few trees. After agreeing to set up our picnic there, I watched Lily unpack and layout a large plaid tone blanket. Once she was finished, she slipped off her shoes and sat down. She smiled and patted the spot beside her with her hand, gesturing for me to sit beside her. Unlike her, I did not remove my shoes but sat down any ways.

“You know you’re supposed to take your shoes off when sitting on a blanket, right?”

“Is that a rule of sorts?” I asked as I watched Lily open the basket.

“No but you don’t want to tear it up or get it dirty.”

I was confused by the logical statement she presented.

“But… it’s bound to get torn and dirty so… why does it matter?”

Lily placed her finger on her chin and thought about my words. She seemed deep in thought as a few seconds started to turn into a few minutes. I had seen many people in the past remove their shoes while sitting on a blanket and it never made much sense to me. For what reason was there to do such as thing?

“Maybe it’s an elf tradition?”

“Lily… picnics are a human invention.”

“Then maybe it just looks cute,” Lily said with a smile.

“Looks… cute?”

My eye was raised at the statement while my mind raced through how it could serve any sort of purpose as she had said. How was it cute? Who determined it to be cute? Why was it considered cute?

“Please, elaborate.”

Lily seemed a bit surprised that I was asking her to elaborate. I guess she thought I would not pursue the idea any further. She was wrong though as this was how my mind often worked. It always wanted to know why and was always skeptical of any information and knowledge.

“W-Well… uh…”

Six minutes passed as I laid back into the blanket and waited for her to compose her thoughts, formulating them into an answer that would satisfy me. Her mind was hard at work on how to elaborate on what her theory was and what she had dug herself into.

“Okay, so…”

“So…”

“Women don’t show much skin, right?”

“Not sure where you’re going with this but okay…”

“Since they don’t show much skin, it’s cute when they remove an article of clothing such as their shoes, show their ankles or they expose sensitive areas like their stomach.”

I thought about her logic for a moment. It was true that exposing certain parts of the skin was a factor that drove up the sex appeal of a woman. Common tactics were used when trying to sell goods or other various wares. One big area that made use of this was brothels, of which I had seen my fair share during my line of work. Surprisingly, her logic was fairly sound; however, it did not account for another factor.

“That works for the women but what about the men?”

“It’s different for men.”

“That sounds sexist.”

“Apples and oranges. It’s just for women to be cute and that’s my reasoning.”

“So, it’s cute when you do it?”

“Yup.”

“It’s cute when my sister does it?”

“Mhm.”

“And it’s cute when Em or Aine do it, right?”

“You got it!”

“Okay, what about when I do it then? It would be considered not cute by your logic and reasoning.”

“Nyizel, it’s cute because you dress like a girl.”

“Your logic… confuses me.”

Lily smiled and embraced me gently.

“Maybe but did that little discussion get you thinking?”

“More like it just makes me want to tell my sister so we can do an experiment to get to bottom of this illogical fallacy.”

A soft giggle escaped Lily’s mouth as she held me tighter.

“This is a beautiful night, isn’t it,” Lily said as she stared up at the moon.

“It is.”

The two of us sat there in silence as I gazed up at the moon above. Yet, there was still that question on my mind. Looking over to Lily I could not deny that she was cute. Still, I needed to test out her logic. I carefully began to remove my shoe and placed it off to the side. As I removed my other shoe, I could hear Lily giggling.

“I don’t feel cute.”

“Trust me, you’re extremely cute. If I was at the academy again, I would date you,” Lily teased as she played with the tip of her hair.

“I still don’t get it. Does this truly look ‘cute’ to you?”

“Have I ever lied to you?”

“Well…”

“You’re supposed to say no.”

“But that would be a lie,” I stated.

“Like you haven’t done that before,” Lily said with a chuckle.

I laid back onto the blanket as Lily rested her head against my chest. Placing a hand on her head, I gently played with her hair while listening to the world around me. The night was beautiful and calling out, wolf howls echoed in the distance. What music the children of the night make.

“This is nice. I just wish we could do this during the day time too. I’m sorry that we can’t—”

“It’s fine, I’m happy for the time that we get to spend together, Nyizel.”

Lily looked up to me and smiled her usual cheerful expression. It was her way of telling me that everything was okay and that she was happy with how things were. Still, there was apart of me that could not help but feel bad. Because I was a vampire, I was unable to go out in the sunlight. The only times when I could go out during the daylight hours was if the clouds blackened the cursed sun. Of course it was not without its risk. In the event the sun appeared, I would be forced to stay in some place that did not allow sunlight to enter. Alternatively, if it happened while out in the open plains, I would be burned alive.

“Don’t you ever wish we could spend the daylight hours together though? I’d think you would feel lonely during the day.”

“I could say the same for you,” Lily remarked.

“Okay, true.”

“Regardless, I enjoy whatever time we have together. So, please, stop worrying about it.”

The hours flew by until it was time for the both of us to return the shop. Helping her with the blanket and packing everything up, I carried the basket for her while she held onto my arm. Once we had made it back to the shop, Lily headed up the stairs and prepared herself for bed while I returned to my room. The woman that paid me 200 gold coins was now a priority. I was not in a position to do much but I knew my sister would gladly take on the job for half of the amount. She enjoyed the work and often considered it an art. I would argue that it was more design but regardless of the craft, it was something she would do for the extra pay.

A few nights passed until I was greeted by the sight of my sister. She would always try to meet up on the sixth day of week if she was free. The two of us partook in various activities from our high-level games of chess to enjoying a moonlit stroll on the beach or through the woods. I always enjoyed my time with her, as did she.

“Is Lily already asleep?” Myilia asked.

“Yeah. The shop had a few more customers than usual. Apparently, some travellers came through so we got a bit more business than normal.”

“That’s good to hear. Now, are you ready to lose, Onii?”

I watched as my sister made her way over to the chessboard. Slipping off her shoes like she normally did, she sat down in the chair in her usual peculiar manner. The way she would sit was never bothered me but I could not help but stare at my sister for moment.

“Something wrong, Onii?”

“No. I’m just trying to figure something out.”

“Which is?”

“Does removal of or exposure to certain areas make someone ‘cuter’, as Lily called it.”

My sister took a moment to think about what I had said. I could tell her mind was racing with an answer rooted in a structure of logic.

“Can you clarify, just to ensure we are on the same frequency here?”

“Ah, yes. It was in regards to the removal of shoes from those of the feminine gender.”

I began to setup the chessboard as my sister thought about the statement. She was deep in thought. While she continued to think, I started the first move as white with pawn to square d4.

“I believe it can play a factor in the sexual appeal. Often those with feminine qualities will increase their physical attractiveness by the removal of articles of clothing such as shoes or socks. Exposure to certain areas of the body, like the bellybutton, do heighten the simulation of desirability. For example…”

Before I could process what had happened, I noticed my sister had placed her foot on the table.

“Does my foot induce pleasure in your body, Onii?”

“No. If anything, I just want you to play the game.”

My sister placed her foot down and moved her chess piece to d5.

“Hmm. Maybe it’s because we are siblings. Regardless, I stand by what I say that it can heighten the attractiveness of a person.”

“We need to experiment one of these days,” I said as I moved as I moved my pawn to c4.

“I agree,” Myilia said as I watched her move her next pawn to e5.

The game continued on until it ended in a draw. Once we had finished, I placed a bag of coins on the table.

“That is a lot of coin. Am I to have a chat with someone?”

“You know Duke Hilbert, right?”

My sister nodded as I leaned back in my chair.

“You need to have a chat with his wife. I believe a nice trip to the mausoleum of shadows would do her quite well.”

“Very well. I’ll be sure to have a through chat with her. Was there anything else, Onii?”

“Nope. Unless you care to stay for a bit longer.”

“I need to go. There’s another noble I need to have a wondrous chat with.”

“Understandable. I’ll let you go then.”

“You and Lily plan to do anything?”

“Probably just some cleaning and shopping? Who knows, I don’t have every day planned out in detail.”

I wrapped my arms around my sister gently and wished her well as she started to leave. Now that I had one problem solved, I still needed to take care of the other one: what items did we need to buy?