Part 15
A quiet day. Quite a rare occurrence these days. Cyeen was slowly getting used to this lifestyle. She didn't think herself as the working type before and she still didn't actually, it was just the conditions she found herself in. Meanwhile Jess and Zoen never predicted working somewhere, earning money rather than stealing it. This was a weird time for for all of them. Zoen wasn't going back on his word as he was monitoring his sister's every move.
The inns they were working at were mediocre at best. Cyeen on the other hand had landed the most prestigious one in Bami where she got her clothes all patched up.
They had agreed to meet at the statue after each week at noon to discuss their plans going further. Now, it was the day for their first meet up.
Zoen took the first word.
"We need bags if we don't want to repeat this everywhere we go. I'll try my best to arrange three for us."
Jess came second.
"Ey, what abuut horsies? We can putz more bags on dem."
Cyeen spoke last.
"I've been waiting you both here for hours and those are your ideas? We have to look at how much we have in total first."
They all emptied their small sacks of money onto a table nearby. It had about thirty silver coins with a few copper ones mixed in. The siblings had brought in fifteen in total and the rest were from Cyeen. Jess counted the whole stash and was annoyed.
"How com ya get pait more? Ya stealin' in secret?"
Cyeen looked at her in disgust.
"What a preposterous accusation. I would never lower myself to your level. They were all tips from who you call 'of higher ranks' of course."
"Oh I get it, aur previouz brawl hasn'd gone to yar head still?"
Cyeen scoffed and crossed her arms. Sher had learned she couldn't beat her. It's because she is a demon. If only a human was standing in front of me. Jess looked at Zoen in help as she did for years. Zoen, of course knew what that meant. Jess was terrible at finance.
"We can't buy shit with this amount Jess. We'll need to work for at least another three weeks."
He was right, this was only enough to buy the same clothings Cyeen was wearing. Well we bought it for less thanks to this brute's temper. She shifted her gaze toward Zoen, clearly bored.
"What's the plan for today? It's the only day they give me a time off so I want to make it count."
"I'll turn this thirty silvs into fourty in a day don't worry." He looked at Jess for a second before shifting his gaze back to Cyeen. "But you, I want you to learn how to defend yourself."
Cyenn was quick to realize what that quick look meant. Jess smiled, revealing her sharp teeth. Creepy. It in fact looked a little creepy. Zoen took all of the money they earned into his empty sack and waved the two goodbye. Cyeen felt a rough hand on her shoulder. Upon further inspection she saw black claws fused into each finger. Jess whispered into her ear.
"I can finally beat ya up naw that he's gon."
Cyeen slapped the hand off her shoulder.
"You won't, trust me."
The two walked in silence towards the closest forest before stopping at somewhere open. Jess walked a little further than Cyeen to face her.
"Take out yar soul weapin."
Cyeen summoned a white claymore in her hand.
"Wha? No yar real one. The whit ones do no damge."
She obeyed this order unwillingly with a sigh, materializing the victorian violet scythe. Jess inspected it from far. She was disappointed.
"Yo ar a scythe user, atleas make an efford to weaponize it. Ya look like a farmer."
The noble was visibly annoyed. She tossed a white scythe at Jess.
"You design it then, genius." She said with an emphasis on the 'genius'. Jess easily catched the farming tool and sat down on the grass. Cyeen approached her and sat across her. The duel seemed to be postponed.
"The handel is too short, there'z no pulling potential on the blayde, add sharp hand guards to bolck attacks on the handel, curve the handel slightly back. Oh and curve the blayde inwards a little."
Cyeen first curved the blade before eyeing a parallel trapezoid shaped portion in the middle of it and slid it up. Then came the handle, which was actually easy to follow. She lifted the scythe up in her hands. It looked like an actual weapon now. Not a farming tool anymore. Jess snatched the now modified white scythe from her hands.
"Now aply it to yar other one and com at me."
Upon closing her eye, an image of the violet scythe appeared right in front of her. Reaching out for the weapon–she started applying the same changes. She opened her eye upon completing it. Her black eyes flashed violet as she summoned her scythe. Cyeen then went on to grip it like how one would use a sword. Jess whistled.
"Ya gotta put one hant near the blayde."
Cyeen rolled her eyes and modified the hand guard to be higher. They were finally ready to begin their duel but the noble was sceptical about Jess's ability to use a scythe.
"Have you ever used one before?"
"Nah? But it canna't be dat differrente from a really curved sword."
You never change, huh?
Hey who do you think you're talking to? Thought Cyeen, trying to understand the random comment from the voice. And as usual, no response again. The voice loved letting her hanging.
Cyeen felt someone in front of her so she took a defensive stance with the hand guards. A white scythe soon clashed with the guards. Jess had finally gotten bored of waiting. Cyeen barely managed to push her away. The demon's white eyes started glowing once again, she was actively trying to kill Cyeen now.
"Don' keep me waitin' noblee!" yelled Jess, spinning the scythe behind her. The noble rushed at her opponent. A side slash followed by another slash from the other side. Jess dodged the first one and stopped the second with her hand. Cyeen felt cold claws seep into her neck and lift her up. In just a second, she had been slammed into a tree. With a quick teleport, Cyeen managed to dodge the full power scythe slash coming at her. Jess correctly predicted where she was about to appear and had lined up the part of the white scythe dedicated for grabs. She pulled the scythe, let it go and sucker punched Cyeen right in the face further angering the noble.
Cyeen got up wiping the blood off her nose. She was holding the weapon with one hand. The violet scythe elegantly glided towards Jess. Cyeen teleported in front of her instantly and threw a side kick aimed at her head while the demon was busy dodging the scythe. None of those hits connected as Jess dug her claws into Cyeen's leg. Jess was ready for the next move now, two blasters appeared in the nobles hands, she had done this before. Two dark red short swords pierced the violet blasters. Jess had a smug look on her face spelling "I win". What she failed to notice were the three knives summoned behind her head. As the knives connected, her head flew forward which met Cyeen's knee. A click. Her limbs were binded by strings. Ten clicks back to back. Ten violet blasters had appeared around her. A hand signal. The blasters all fired off at the same time and kept firing. Cyeen clicked her fingers to bind her again each time she broke free. Cyeen's eyes were now completely shining violet. A set of claws pierced her neck once again. How the hell did she break free? Were her thoughts as she kissed the same tree again.
"Dishonorble. Weak. Useless."
Cyeen looked up with hostile eyes.
"I'm not one of you scum."
Cyeen's words were met by a punch in the face.
"You can keep hitting me all you want you barbarian! It's not going to bring them back!"
Jess was now on top of her, striking her with endless punches until her shield's hit points reached one.
"Never. Never talk about my familly, ever agian."
Cyeen laid at the bottom of the tree for quite a while. She is beyond help. Cyeen had no intention of giving them a place among the royal guards from the start. She had decided it the moment Zoen asked of her. They'll both be executed by my very hands.
Cyeen laid there for a little longer, watching the clouds pass. She didn't get many opportunities like this at home. Maybe, just maybe, she could turn the pirate siblings in and make a living in this town.
"Taking a nap?" Said Zoen as he sat down next to her. Though his eyes looked at the trees his mind was in a whole another place.
He spoke once again.
"I told her to only train you." Sigh "Guess I needed to be harsher. Can you let it slide this time, please?"
Cyeen didn't bother getting up while answering.
"Mhm, just this once."
Don't go thinking you scum are redeemable. Cyeen smiled, as this was the only expression she had mastered. Zoen reached his hand out to her which Cyeen responded by slapping it away and sitting up by herself. Her smile had faded.
"But even then, can you please try being a little kinder towards her? We're both going through a hard time right now you see."
Cyeen shrugged.
"My actions and words reflect the amount of respect I receive. Make her understand I'm the one in control here."
Zoen knew it was impossible. It was already hard as is to contain his sister let alone make her obey a noble with no authority over her. He tossed the sack of silvers to towards Cyeen. There were exactly fourty in it.
"How'd you do it?"
"Nothing illegal, just so you know."
Yeah that definitely reassures me. Cyeen got up completely. Jess had won once again. A demon, only because she's a demon. She thought to herself, repeating her words from before. She pocketed the sack full of silvers.
"I'll keep our money safe until we got enough. I don't think there is a safe place wherever you two work."
Cyeen started walking back to Bami after that sentence. This town now had started to gain some favor in her eyes. It was cleaner than the usual town and the cherry on top, it had a great design. She wanted this town for herself, whatever the border it was in.
You're pathetic, Cyeen Flameberg.
"SHUT UP! You're merely a voice and I'm flesh, blood, alive! Know your place! You only exist because I do."
The voice didn't say anything further, leaving her in complete silence. Even nature had fallen silent. Her ears started ringing. Faint at first, slowly increasing until it got to the point of blurring her vision...
The same television and couch. She still didn't know what a television was. This time it was different. There was now a window located to the right of the technological device. It looked to be ready to burst into the black and white room at any moment. Cy#$@ slowly approached the window before opening it. A wave of colors hit her eyes, momentarily blinding her. Upon looking behind her, she saw a staircase, a door, a doorframe leading to the kitchen. They all had color now.
Cyeen opened her eyes once again. The world was back as it was. She ignored it like she did before. It's the exhaustion, she thought, continuing her way towards her work place.
An inn that's on the larger side. Chairs and tables fitting nobles. Wooden floors and walls cleaned by the new hire. White Poppy, was what people called this place. Though it was not the real name, people got used referring to it that way for they always had white poppies as decorations.
Cyeen entered the inn only to be greeted by the unwilling owner. She returned his greetings before withdrawing to the room she was assigned to. She buried her head into her pillow. A thought came to her mind as she relaxed her body.
"Didn't En also bestow me with a passive skill?"