Beneath The Mask

[Lavinian Dementia]

Three Weeks Prior

“Warden, a moment of your time.”

Samantha sighed as she looked at the room that was in the middle of cleaning when she turned. Instead of a random member of the clergy, she was greeted by a man in a hooded robe. She couldn't see much of his face beyond the goatee he kept immaculately trimmed, even as he moved into the room. The Warden tensed up as she wanted to gut the man, but decided to entertain his delusion anyways. Samantha gave him a cautionary look before she sat on her bed and said, “Oh yes, fine, make yourself at home.”

“I see we haven’t met then, I thought you would have recognized me. I am Alexander Memnar, a man of some import to the Dark Family,” the robed man explained.

That, was a name she definitely recognized. Memnar was known for many things, the creation of the ghouls that had caught her when the Night of Debauchery hit amongst them. If there was a single person responsible for her kidnapping, it was this man. Not that she was angry about that anymore. She might have gutted him had this been the beginning of her time amongst the cult, now it was an interesting footnote. She shrugged as she said, “I was given no instruction on how to address you or how you fit in with the Cult. By my best guess, you have the Dark Mother’s ear, so throwing you out for assuming things is a bit beyond my station. What is it you need Devil Dog?”

He grinned at the use of his nickname. He nodded before he looked about the area, “I am using my influence to have you sent to Alerar. There is an Alchemist by the name of Gongoru there. He seems to have found a way to make his elixirs stretch further, and I’m interested in acquiring it. He believes we’re bringing him to the Mansion in order to bring him into the Cult…”

“You don’t want him to reach Corone alive, do you?” She read between the lines, knowing exactly what was about to be asked.

“If he were to fall, well it would be quite tragic. Of course his equipment would then fall to us to redistribute…” He mused.

Samantha nodded as she tossed her sword next to her dagger belt and began preparing to leave. She looked at him before she spoke, “Who is my watcher on this one?”

“No one, I think it would be best if the Daughter of the Demon was given free reign on this one. If things should go sour and it become public, you merely present as another monster in a line of them. If it is successful, well, your continued usefulness to the Cult will be appreciated as well,” He explained as he turned to go. It was frustrating to see the man acting so smug, but really she had no choice but to let him act this way. Pissing off the Cults main ally was a guaranteed visit from the Dark Family, and three of them already made their disdain for her known. The last time Jeb had come she had spent a month with a broken leg.

She was also given freedom, and she was not going to waste the opportunity to prove she didn’t need watchers. If she could do this task, she would be free of oversight, she could actually get shit done without wondering who’s toes she was treading on. It would be a welcome change.

Memnar stopped at the door before he spoke, “Your boat leaves in three days. Get moving Warden.”

~*~

The wagon approached the small town in Alerar. Getting so many armed men through the port had been a problem, but luckily it was lessened by Memnar’s foresight. He had distributed the cultists amongst a few ships heading for Alerar, so as to lower suspicions. They’d all return on the same ship, but getting in the country would be harder than getting out, especially with the violent reputations of a few of her flock.

Samantha took a bite of her apple boredly as the men moved the wagon, bringing it to a halt outside the Alchemist’s shop. She looked at the gang of men and muttered about beggars and choosers before she spoke up, “Alright. Clear the wax from your ears because I don’t want any mistakes. If he tells you to do something a certain way, I don’t want any arguments you do it that way. I don’t want any of his equipment broken. Anyone I catch slacking volunteers to be Memnar’s next test subject, am I clear?”

The men looked nervously amongst each other before she gestured to the shop, “Alright, let's go. Best behavior gentlemen.” She caught a few mutterings and let them slide. She didn’t have to prove she was their leader, they knew it. They were grousing to get it out of their system. However, she also knew words of treason when she heard them, and she had a knife ready the second that shit started up.

[Zavine]

Zavine wasn’t sure how much time had passed, time for her was always a struggle to comprehend. Days, months, years, centuries, they all blended into the one experience for her. There were a series of shouts and loud noises, followed by the sounds of groaning wood.

“What is going on?”

Zavine had to shield her eyes at the sudden influx of light. It took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust, and when they did they saw something she was not expecting. A young woman with an appearance strikingly similar to her own. Zavine was unable to make out the details, but she saw long flowing white hair and eyes the colour of storm clouds. The girl stared at her with as much confusion as Zavine felt. Did that much time pass? So much so that Gongoru had passed her onto someone else?

Zavine pressed her fingers against the glass writing the words in tradespeak, a language she knew to be common. ‘Who are you? Are you my new owner?’

“You’re alive? Do you need water to breathe?” The white haired girl looked to someone beyond her sight and mentioned a club.

Zavine frowned and shook her head, she didn’t get her answer in the way she expected. The woman didn’t know she was alive, so it was clear that she didn’t know about her abilities, so if she didn’t inherit her, did this woman steal Gongoro’s possessions?

Zavine pointed to the tubes and wires that connected her body to the canister, then wrote the word ‘battery’ against the glass, hoping the girl understood.

“Crap this thing runs out of power she’s toast, Someone get pry bars, let’s get her out of there…” The white haired woman said immediately assuming the worst. Shadows moved to pry open the container as the white haired woman watched.

Zavine panicked, she couldn’t recall the last time the device opened, had it been one hundred years? Two hundred? The girl had completely misinterpreted her. Zavine wildly shook her head to and fro, trying to get them to stop. Zavine covered her ears as the glass began to vibrate and crack with each hit of the various clubs.

SMASH

Suddenly, the glass broke, there was a crackle as a large burst of pure energy rocked the room, knocking over people, crates and splintering wood. Zavine crumpled into a heap, small lines of red traced her body where the glass had cut her. Zavine struggled to lift herself to a seated position. She felt ill, and threw up the liquid she had been breathing for years. Coughing and spluttering Zavine sat straight, staring at her shaking hands.

She had been freed.

“W-why…?” Her voice was hoarse, and cracked. Zavine could barely speak above a whisper, even so she spoke with an accent that one would struggle to place, her words almost spoken in song. “Why did you break it?”

The white haired woman looked at the others before she spat, “Get above decks, I’ll clean this up.” She then moved Zavine who sat in the remnants of the tank as she knelt at her side, “You usually thank someone for freeing you, or did you want to live in a tube for thayne know how long?”

Zavine furrowed her brow, how long had it been? She opened her mouth in an attempt to speak but instead of words, more bile was violently expelled from her chapped lips. Her body shook and she fell forward into the mess of cables, liquids,glass, and bodily fluids that had pooled around her. She rose a shaky hand, realizing the cables were still attached to her body, through the suit. Zavine rose her cerulean gaze to meet the stormy clouds of the crass woman before her. They still held the same burning question ‘Why?’ Instead of speaking, Zavine let out a shivered sigh, closing her eyes. The air was cold and lingered with the smell of salt and wet wood. Am I… on a ship? I’ve always wanted to see what one was like.

“H.heh..” She managed.

Samantha gently ran her hand along the girl’s back, “Whoa there, take it easy, you've been in that tank a while, get used to air before you worry about anything else.”
Zavine knew the girl was right, but it didn’t stop the questions that burned in her mind, what happened to Gongoru? If she were here, Zavine had to take a guess that he had been killed. Even though he was her captor, she felt bad. She didn’t like the thought of unnecessary death.

Zavine went to stand, but her legs buckled underneath her, and she collapsed back down into the pile of cables and cords that were still attached to her. Zavine winced, and gingerly began to pull them away from her suit. Flinching every time, leaving trails of blood where they were once imbedded into her skin.

[Lavinian Dementia]

Samantha gently helped her unhook from the machine, and frowned seeing the blood. It wasn't that she was squeamish about blood, after all she had been forced to watch Jeb do her job until she got over it. Seeing a girl in this shape made her mad, reminded her of her own inadequacies. She gently lifted the girl and set her down in the pod, “Rest here, I gotta clean up this mess. Alright?”

The woman nodded, her eyes darted to Samantha’s cheek. She reached out with a shaking hand which Sam flinched away from, unsure what the girl was about to do. For a brief moment fear showed on the Warden's face. It was quickly shoved behind a mask as she let the girl reach for her.

The white haired woman paused, then mouthed words that Samantha read as ‘It is ok’ before pressing her fingertips lightly to a wound Samantha didn’t realise she had. Her skin prickled at the contact, then a soft golden glow erupted from her fingertips. The feeling was a gentle warmth. Samantha remembered Red's healing worked much the same way. The woman pulled away, a look of concern on her features.

“You aren't human, are you?” Samantha asked, gently feeling where the girl’s finger had passed. The girl shook her head. Grey eyes met cerulean, “You weren't saying the tank was on a battery, you meant you…” Samantha swore as she stood up and walked over the broken glass. This was what Memnar wanted, this girl was somehow the key to empowering magic and potions.

She grabbed a bucket bringing it over to the mess as she looked up at the girl, “For now, when you can talk I would suggest you keep that quiet. I have to think now, because this is going to complicate things…” She picked up shards of the glass and tossed them in the bucket. A sigh left her lips as she looked up, “I am so in trouble.”

She continued to clean up the glass occasionally looking at the not human girl. She was torn, the girl was nothing to her, or rather she should be. Could she sacrifice someone else for her freedom? Was she so callous that another person's happiness meant nothing? Samantha wasn't comfortable with that line of questioning. It involved her actually making a decision, and every time she had done that she had suffered.

She looked at the girl studying her for awhile before she picked up the bucket. She moved over to the girl and sighed, setting the bucket on the ground before she crouched, “You're staying with me. For now at least, by the time we reach port I should have a decision. Got a name?”

“Z-Zavine.” The girl was clearly struggling with her new surroundings yet she still managed to collect the debris around her, placing it in a neat pile in an effort to help. Samantha carefully gathered the pieces and put them in the bucket. She looked at the girl for a while and nodded.

“Alright, Zavine. It's a start, I think you're gonna have to stay in my cabin for now. Knowing my luck it's a little bigger than everyone else’s but not by much. You hungry?” She didn't know why she was acting this way. Something though, it made her want to protect this girl.

Zavine gave her a curious look at her question, she lifted her hand to her stomach then lowered her head as though she were deep in thought. After a few minutes of silence, the woman slowly shook her head.

Samantha wasn't sure about her feelings. The last time she had been the conflicted was with Scarlet, and then it was because she felt like her thoughts were clear for once. In one of the few times she had learned from her father he told her to trust her gut, that it was wisdom she didn't understand. The thoughts of her Father stirred up some anger. Standing she slammed a fist against the side finger crate before she relaxed and shook her head, banishing the thoughts for another day. Now wasn't the time for frivolous thoughts.

Taking a steadying breath she leaned down to grab Zavine, “Let's go, my cabin. You've had quite the day.” She stumbled as she was pulled upward, she made a few sounds of protest, but followed, albeit stumbling along the way. Samantha put Zavine's arm over her shoulder to support the girl. Moving through the ship passageways and reached the door to her cabin. She gently placed Zavine's down and opened the door before she picked the girl up and carried her into the cabin.