Extravagant floral arrangements hung on the walls, cascading down like waterfalls. They livened up the long dinner table and decorated the floors of the main dining hall with their ornate jade planters. In the center, a large bouquet chandelier hung high from the tall ceiling, setting the mood as the crown of the occasion. Delicate petals drifted down through the windows into small pink piles on the ground. They filled the room with dewy light and sweet air.
Truly, it was the start of spring.
Catheris caressed the blossoms of a peach branch, not interested in anything, really. His hair had been done into a cute bun-with-braids situation with a silver crane hairpiece hugging the bun's side. He wore the black tea perfume that younger man—Sian—slipped him, as well as his pearls. Catheris was truly a widow at his finest today.
Today was the ceremony before moving on to the "wedding." It was to ease everyone in the day before. After all, it seemed like these three months had gone by so fast for them.
"I heard the flowers are from the garden. Mmm… they smell amazing."
"Really? I really want to take a tour of the garden; I've heard so much about it. It's gotta be sooo beautiful."
"I mean, just look at this place, it's just so gorgeous in general. The mermaids really give it a romantic feel~?"
"Oh, definitely. I want to tour more castles after all this. It sounds a little funny, but being princess'd feels so nice!"
The chatter died down after the carts started rolling in with everyone's breakfasts. Of course, on a morning like this, it was no ordinary course; it was afternoon tea. Catheris picked a grapefruit oolong tea. He really didn't care anymore at this point, so his useless goal today was to taste all the teas.
While waiting for the decadent, three-tiered stands to reach his area of the table, he settled his boredom by observing everyone.
All the widows looked their finest. Their stress had been washed away, creases gone, and their cheeks plump —looking as youthful as spring apples. They all thought it was the new, lavish lifestyle. He couldn't help but feel his chest tighten whenever he saw them, a tangle of unease and disgust for the other, knowing what they'd been fed all along. That fact didn't seem like some arbitrary sadistic fetish, either.
'It's out of your control anyway.'
He downed the cooled-down tea in just a few sips, then requested a cup of lemon lavender tea afterwards.
'I should get those floral teas in.'
He downed that cup near-instantly again and requested a chocolatey-rose tea…
[The day after meeting Sian]:
"What's this?" The bureau's agent murmured, sizing up the black button.
Catheris had pulled him into some abandoned, hidden servant's hallway and pulled the insignia out from his chest.
"Where'd you find this? It's a higher ranking one, too."
"I killed him." Catheris took out a small wheel of cheese from his chest, too.
"What."
"I don't know how it happened either."
"Are you sure you killed it? You could've mistaken its immobilized state. Those 'things' persist even when their brain is gone; the curse is like a parasite."
"I would like to think I did. I ate him…"
The other simply stared at him blankly, looking for more of an answer.
"I don't know why…? It happened all too fast. One second it was lunging for my neck, and then I was… licking ink."
"You killed it..?"
Both their blank stares read as ???
"Did it cause indigestion?"
"No, thank the saintesses."
"No – I don't think the saintesses saved you this time. I've never heard of a human surviving ink, let alone drinking it."
Catheris just gave him a look that said, "I don't know either," and promptly moved the conversation forward.
"If there's any need, I hope that extra insignia will serve you well."
"I'll be busy during the ceremony. I'd advise you to listen to your intuition, you're good at that."
"Mn."
"After all this is done, wait for me to bring you back to the Bureau. In your state, you'd be snatched up by another cult."
Sighhh.
Catheris mette Orial really didn't know what to do now; those days seemed so fast compared to how slow his day was going. At this rate, he was gonna get a stomachache from all the tea. Only two days left, and still he was bored out of his mind.
"-Eh?! What did you say?!"
"They opened up most of the rest of the mansion! Come on, let's go walk through the garden! I saw it from the balcony, it'shugeeee."
Thinking about it… the windows were opened earlier.
So they've started on ritual preparations, hm? How nice — giving the livestock free range before the slaughter. There was a disproportionate amount of servants to widows; he could run off for a little bit…
To the restricted areas, of course. What were they gonna do, eat him??? Quite the opposite.
He had an inkling this operation wouldn't be as simple as the Bureau treated it. From what he and Ari exchanged, he was treating it as any other sort of winter crazy cult case (apparently they're quite formulaic?). But if they thought this was a viable plan, it must've held some weight. They had the means and nothing to lose more than they already would.
Testing the boundaries, he spent a good while of his afternoon wandering through the hallways and observing how the servants reacted to his presence before, finally, he found his first real clue.
"Sorry, wedding preparations are being done. You're not allowed to go there." A dead-fish-eyed maid said tiredly.
Catheris airily hummed, nodding his head in understanding. He turned his head to look outside at a rosy colored sky.
"I see, it must be very busy. Thank you for your work."
Of course, when she walked away, he walked straight in. It was easier to play a straight-up ditz that way. Catheris proceeded with caution — treating it as some sort of spy mission — but these halls were oddly empty. Peculiarly, instead of being mermaid themed, this area was seashell themed, and it felt much more luxurious. The hosts were busy – if he had to assume?
At this point, he'd wandered long enough to get a good layout of the building, so exploring wasn't much of a big deal to him anyway. His chest rested a bit heavy, and he felt his veins slowly flaring up in reaction to traces of ink in the vicinity. There was ink, yes, but not strong enough to indicate its direct source was there, just remnants of some aftermath. Yeah, that Bureau agent was right… trust your intuition.
[Bathing Quarters]
Still a little bit skeptical about this area, he flared up his ink for more sensitive perception and put his ear to the door. Really… there was nobody.
Slightly turning the knob, it was obviously locked – so well, directing a bit more ink to his veins, he turned until he broke it off. Using the hole as a handle, he opened the door that way.
Shit, it smelt like a decaying sea. It was that vile musty scent of mildew.
Catheris covered his nose with his palm. It smelled like lotion and roses, and steam filled the entire room. It was a huge bath, a fountain with a stream coming from a mermaid's jug. Dozens of nearly devoured corpses rose to the surface of the water.
It was the scene of a horror movie; he knew them. One of the more decayed bodies had a smoking pipe tangled in her hair, and her purple silk outfit was molding in the water – it was that smoker woman from the very beginning.
Oddly enough, all their bodies were cushioned by sea foam.
'How utterly bizarre...'
He — Had not grasped the apparent severity until now… he at least thought the widows were safe.
The wedding… they must've had something unexpected up their sleeves, something worse than what he could anticipate. Being a widow, he wasn't going to risk his chances and have that nonchalant Bureau Agent stand on the sidelines. Just why were they already using the widows… and how much did Ari know?
—Forget it, better to confirm with the other than to do anything risky. Catheris knew it was supposed to be an intel mission, so the Bureau wanted to gather as much information as they could. That meant unfortunately, he'd have to go through with the wedding and see it to the end. But would the Bureau really risk casualties over intel? He couldn't answer that.
Oh saintess. He'd better find the ceremony area before the maids find him.
He quietly fled the scene before the vile stench could latch onto him. In the hall, he interviewed a few widows who were looking dreamily out the window — taking in the sunset they hadn't seen in months.
"The venue? Hmm… they said it was at the grandest part of the mansion."
The pink-haired widow turned to her blue-haired friend.
"Do you remember?"
"Pretty sure it's the center of the second floor. I saw them hanging flowers and ribbons from the double staircase. Do you want a peek?"
Saying yes, they all watched in silence as dozens of maids decorated the entrance.
The pink-haired girl sighed dreamily, "They just started, but the entrance already looks so good! I really wanna know how many flowers they have if they're covering the first floor too. "
After observing the maids for a while, Catheris noticed that they all sort of lagged, moving like robots.
"We'll be getting some drinks now. Would you like to join us?" The blue-haired widow asked.
"Bad time, I fear I adore forget-me-nots. I'll catch up to you two ladies later, hm?"
"Sure."
Catheris masked his presence with his ink, and concealed himself in the staircase's shadow. He silently dashed up the stairs as everyone was working down the hall, distracted. He quickly found a hiding spot, and felt compressed under the weight of the venue's negative energy. As he felt something approaching, he instinctively flared up his ink.
…And he could feel his veins reacting to another's ink. Thank the saintesses he found the other so quickly. Catheris decided to take a peak when he figured the people who came by were deep in conversation.
The cloaked figure — even from this distance — looked way too tall to be Ari.
.
..
…
Mr. Beo???
A hunched over, elderly-man croaked, "Those lovely flowers should be honored. What a beautiful thing, to never have to face the horror of witnessing their beauty wilt throughout the years."
"It is a noble sacrifice. Mobius' dormant soul will be very pleased when he wakes." Mr. Beo(?) hummed.
"They'll never age, never move, their purity will be immortalized in white marble. As statues, their beauty will be eternally idolized — what more could a woman ask for?"
"Could I speak of a possible concern?"
"Of course, of course. I'm not like those other pompous folks. Don't let them get to you, we'll be on the same level in the end anyway.
"What is the cover-up story?"
"Ahem… Mr. Almazer's boy is planning that. He wants it to be a surprise."
"Is our vessel faring well? I heard he wasn't eating during mealtime."
Beo fit awfully riiiiight in with his shady-self…
"It doesn't matter. His constitution is already naturally compatible." The old man answered.
"Have all the others arrived yet?"
"They will arrive tomorrow morning. They want to rest before the evening ceremony, so we've already made the appropriate accommodations.
"Speaking of the ceremony, when is it? I'd like to bathe before."
"You didn't get a pamphlet?"
"My friend… you're an old man too. You'd understand that I didn't want to bring out my reading glasses…"
Mr. Beo was a really sly man… probably why he was a detective.
"Oh, don't tell me you thought it was just another piece of paper!"
"Yes…yes… so it seems I need another…"
"I'll ask the servants to bring one to your room later. Er… just make sure to be at the venue at 6:00 – if you insist on arriving fashionably late, 7:30 is the actual ceremony, so be there by 7:10…"
Catheris suddenly felt a heavy pressure on his back, and tumbled backwards — he managed to catch himself before he crashed into the wall. He clutched his abdomen, uselessly trying to soothe the pain radiating through his gut as he clenched his jaw.
Fuck. He'd have to seek out both or at least one of the Bureau's agents the next day. As Catheris paced through the halls, he felt around for the widows' wing by using the paintings as reference until he found himself at the door to the kitchen once again.
It was exhausting.
Bumbling around, he desperately needed a breath of fresh air. As he stepped onto the balcony, he bemoaningly huffed. Catheris leaned on the ledge of the balcony deep in thought, broodily looking off into the stars in the night sky. It seemed like his jellyfish haircut was being flattened by the amount of stress he was under.
He really was far out… And it was going to be an even longer day tomorrow. Best case scenario — he doesn't die.
Clack…
Hold on, just who—
"I think we need some privacy, wouldn't you agree?" Sian had evidently locked the door.
Catheris clicked his tongue.
"Trying to whisk me away and elope before my big day? How rude."
"That dead man will be marrying dozens. Won't you do this poor soul a favor and become his wife?" His hand brushed Catheris' cheek.
"Nope."
"After?"
"I have a mourning period of two years."
"I can wait."
"Then I'll dive into the casket with my husband."
"No worries. I can take him out, then we can both fit." (◍ ´꒳` ◍)
…
"Oh please, you're too big."
"Buried side by side?"
Catheris shook his head, "Give it up."
"Are you worried about being married off?"
Catheris just looked at him in silence. A yes.
"Why of course. In this day and age, you marry for love, don't you? To have that taken away by force… feels like a violation."
"Hmmm. I didn't think you were a romantic."
"It's a bit silly to say that, isn't it? After all I did, I don't know why I still am either. Though, it is simply human yearning. Nowadays, it doesn't mean much to me."
"It could?"
Catheris looked dead into those purple eyes. He turned to the side and shifted weight onto one arm as he leaned on the ledge.
"You know I know the truth about this whole 'ghost bride' affair, so we should both stop pretending. You want me to care about you before my eventual death? Mr. Almazer, you're asking too much of me. It's quite cruel – you should learn better, before you end up like me."
"That's not it. If you try insisting you're washed up again, I'm not gonna buy it–"
"Yes, washed up is wrong."
Catheris blinked innocently, turning his back to the sky and crossing his arms.
"I'm expiring. Soon my soul will be rotting in its own body, whilst Mobius frolics around in this washed-up form of mine."
"..."
Sian hung his head low, with nothing to say.
Catheris groaned, "Try all you want, there's nothing you can do about my impending doom. And stop trying to flatter me. Can't you at least let me vent my frustration — without being a little fly buzzing in my ear?"
"Please don't say that about yourself." Sian yanked Catheris by his shoulders.
His voice was teetering on insanity, its thin fragility growing desperate. His disheveled bangs covered his drained face, and his petrifying dull purple eyes looked dead.
Before Catheris could even react, the other began trembling. Sian's expression flickered between manic sobbing, and something lost in absurd laughter, before contorting into sheer euphoria.
"I can… I can do something for you – please don't leave me."
Almost sobbing, his breath was heavy, and he was shivering as if he were some mad dog.
"It's… fine. I am already kidnapped, so I will not be going anywhere."
"No.. It's not fine." He nodded his head side to side intensely as he wailed like a puppy.
"You'll be fine without me…"
Catheris began awkwardly patting the top of Sian's head.
"You're all grown up now."
'...Why's this guy so obsessed with me. No need to keep this game up…'
Sian brought Catheris' hand up to his face, and cupped his cheek, "Mobius wouldn't do that to you…"
Shouldn't Catheris be the one upset right now??? Bye.
"Shhh, shhhh. Breathe in now." Catheris cooed.
Monitoring the other's breath, he waited before calmly asking,
"Explain?"
Through stifled sobs, Sian choked on his sobs to calm down.
"Mnn…" He whimpered, eyes beginning to tear up as he averted his gaze.
"I don't know why but.."
Swallowing hard, Sian clutched his chest.
"My heart goes insane whenever I look at you."
…?
His purple eyes were beginning to fog up as his voice began to grow faint.
"I don't know why… but whenever I see you, it's like I need you. Before you came along, I was supposed to be Mobius' vessel. My father— he— he had a lot of kids to try to make the perfect vessel, and that's how I was made. And then when I-I was a kid, I started hearing his voice in my head, and so that's the reason I think why–"
"Breathe."
"My head keeps glitching out when I'm near you… you actually seem a lot like this one saintess, and… I think they had something going on."
"Do… you have a plan for getting me out?"
"Yes."