She's back. Her creature is back. And so are the eyes. Not the pale pearls of Lilith but the human ones. They glare holes into her head, so much so that even the guards notice. It happened the day after she saw Lilith. She couldn't reach her or find a way to communicate with her. The mental speech was a one-way path, and Cam still hadn't figured out a way back. Any who, the memories were enough to keep her happy, distracted, until life reminded her where she was. It happened the day after Lilith. They were going on their semi daily bathroom break, and yes, she was only allowed to use the bathroom twice a day, when something distracted the guards. They were talking and chatting and suddenly went quiet. The meanest of the guards looks around.
"Richard, go check the area."
"This is the servant's quarter, Tom. Who would even be there?"
"Go check it. "
Even though they don't seem to have differing status, Richard still listens. Annoyed, he walks slowly to the end of the hall, exaggerating his head movement looking around for danger, giving Tom a 'I-told-you-so' look before calmly walking back. Clicking his tongue, the man chuckles at Richard's attitude. Before he could even clap him on the back, he falls forward, eyes rolling to the back of his head, breathing gone.
Immediately the other guards tense, look around for a split second, then check their fallen comrade. Tom's the one that covers his eyes and says a three second prayer on him before they run in the direction of the hall.
"We have Sen shields. Anything you attempt will be futile. Surrender now." The controlled shouts of the guards as they push through the hall with semi clear blue sheets in front of them, snap Camrin into action. The guards supposedly have shields, maybe weapons to fight with. She has none, and the guards don't strike her as the type to risk themselves for her. She quickly runs into the room still wearing the one new outfit the princess generously gifted. Faded and stained, Camrin's thin skirt, with the I-live-in-a-cottage core dress swirls as she rushes into her room and slams the door shut. It doesn't lock from the inside and they're no desk or chair in the room to block it.
Scared and oddly amused, Cam lifts the bare mattress and pushes it onto the door. In the short time it takes her to do that, the noise outside is gone. An eerie quiet replaces it. One minute. Two. There isn't even breathing on the other side. For some unknown reason, her heart starts to beat faster. She looks out her small window. Nobody. Back to the door. Safely closed. This feels strangely similar to when she was being hunted by wolves. Cam starts to creep forward when jumps back, unable to decide her course of action. She looks to the window, looks to the door. Looks to the window, looks to th-.
The scream stuck in her throat has no way out when the princess shoves her hand onto her mouth. Trembling, eyes knit together, she tries to bow to her. Only when she's halfway down does she notice the faded pants, then the broken shoes, then her actual face; one similar but completely different than the princess. Was this person trying to imitate the princess? Stage a coup? Did she get herself into something dangerous? So, she crouches there, halfway to the ground and halfway to standing, she stays in that awkward position, locking eyes with the woman. Not a human, judging from the antenna like things on her head.
She's their then.
"I'm not the princess, I promise. I just.... happen to have similar looks, ok? I'm going to let go of your mouth and you're going to listen to me and not scream because I'm not trying to hurt you. Please?" She adds the last as an afterthought. Camrin snorts internally. As if I have a choice. But she obediently stays quiet; this could turn out to be so many things in the end.
Hesitantly, the girl lets go.
"I'm Igore."
"...."
"You pronounce it I-gore"
.....
"What's your name?"
Is she serious? Cam bites her tongue off with the effort of keeping quiet. Her aunt once hit her so bad she stayed in bed for two days, all because she thought Camrin had a 'big mouth'. Too quiet on times. Too opinionated at others. It's so strange being so many things, they cancel out to be nothing.
Still, she stretches to her full height, answering the question with the dignity she hasn't been allowed to show since that fatal day before the forest.
"My name is Camrin." A pause. "I'm human, as I'm sure you've heard by now."
A sound shatters the quiet behind her, but the girl slams the doors shut, seemingly floating over the strangeness, before continuing the conversation like normal.
"Heard of, is an understatement. The entire city is painting the night sky blue with the news."
"They're celebrating?" It matched what was said when she first came her, but the idea still bothers her. They're celebrating? They're celebrating hatred and torture?
"Oh yes, they're going all out. Dal is basically stuck to everyone's lungs by now." The girl gives a quick laugh, then awkwardly stops when Camrin stands her, expressionless.
"Dal is an expensive sort of drug. It has a light blue color to it when it's burned. It holds a lot for symbol and power in Eshika city and the country as a whole. Haa. Anyway, we need to get you out of here for a change. Those Pezhes will really bring anyone down won't they." And before Camrin could react, could even begin to contemplate that this might be a trap, she's being dragged out, tripping over her feet, and out of the hallway. Maybe, if she'd looked back, she'd have realized the pair of feet hidden in one of the empty rooms, and maybe even the glance said girl throws that way.
But the speed with which Igore runs out the hall only hits Camrin with the simplistic passion of a lost child. Nevertheless, Camrin still pretends she's not completely out of breath when they reach the kitchen. Freezing, she looks around her. Rutted pots, broken bowls, not a human in sight. The more she turns, observing her surroundings, the creepier she feels. Suddenly, the hallway is dark. Very dark. Has she been living like that? The quiet. The eternal quiet, even a grandfather clock couldn't measure. Did time always pass so slyly?
"Don't worry," Igore says, ignoring Cam's flinch, "It's abandoned. Nobody really comes here. This used to be the grand kitchen before the location changed some centuries ago. It was tied to this huge scandal, god you know, the drama and old folktales." She says, waving her hands dismissively.
"It gets annoying sometimes. All the fake history they shove down your throat. The Sens don't say that, but so little people can confirm it that it's all believed."
"What are you talking about?" The flinch Igore gives sends her heart dropping. Damn it! She needs to be careful if she wants to get any information.
"Oh nothing. Don't worry about it. Just little old me and my boring problems. Let's focus more on you. How's the life altering going? Painful?" She laughs bitterly, "Yeah. It usual is. On the brighter side, those guards they assigned you are not powerful at all. I'm sure they spewed all this propaganda about the strength of a Qestin but the real powerful ones are not given to lowly humans with no use. For them I mean. They're all with the royal family. These ones do not have Sen shields or Sen anything for that matter. Don't let them intimidate you out of your will to live. There are many things you don't understand her, and until you do, everything is dangerous." Then her face breaks into a smile.
"But you don't need that bad luck, do you? Come on, you need a break. Come on."
Igore drags her once more, but this time she feels her skin being pulled apart, a pain passing through her front to her back. Bending down, she clutches her stomach, only to find her feet completely missing. She startles back to her feet, eyes clashing with Igore's wicked ones. Smiling ear to ear, her face melts into the dusty chairs behind her. A gasp later, she feels a hand leading the way out the servant's corridor.
Nothing matters then. Not the strange sound or the strange girl or the fear or the danger. Nothing matters when Igore pulls her, saying "Let's go", her tone filled with a new kind of future.
Trust later, Live now.
One pair of eyes is finally found.