Dark Calling
As the hours of celebration pass, the inn becomes crowded with revelers seeking out the champions of the arena. Lumi and Khimi are constantly surrounded by adoring fans, leaving them with no privacy from the moment they emerge from the labyrinth. The crowd lavishes them with accolades and praise, while Ennui watches from a distance, savoring Khimi and Lumi’s fleeting moment of fame. She takes pleasure in watching women flock to them, oblivious to their obvious sexual tendencies. She and Rashid hide among the crowd, carefully avoiding guards who are searching for them based on their descriptions. Iris sits beside Ennui, bitter and barely uttering a word. Ennui knows that Iris feels snubbed since her disappearance during the melee.
As the night wears on, the crowd slowly disperses and potential suitors fade away from the inn. Lumi, now drunk, clings tightly to Khimi, revealing the true nature of their relationship to the public. Rashid retires to bed after praising Ennui for her display of friendship. Ennui herself longs to retire, but secretly hopes for Iris to join her. However, when Iris offers her a goodnight kiss, Ennui is left alone and feeling sour. She drowns her sorrows in drink, finally loosening up enough to dance with her drunken friends.
The three whittle down the night until they are the last patrons still awake in the tavern. Ennui sits across Khimi with Lumi asleep in his lap.
“P-proud of you both,” Ennui stutters, taking a long sip from the pewter mug. The smell of the spirits makes her head spin—dwarven slop, at least that is what she thinks it could be.
Khimi strokes Lumi’s soft golden hair and looks up at Ennui. “What you did,” he mumbles, “it means so much to him. You made him… so happy.”
Ennui mutters into her mug, “I don’t particularly enjoy one-sided fights. So if anything, I did it for my own entertainment.”
“Ennui,” Khimi hiccups, “why do you have to be so cold? I know you did it for Lumi,” he says, giving her a knowing and caring look.
Ennui looks away, placing her palm on her cheek. “Don’t give me that,” she says brusquely.
Khimi chuckles and pulls a cloak over Lumi’s body. “You don’t have to deny that you know of kindness,” he says, leaning over the table.
“A rare occasion. The little lion was l-lucky,” Ennui stutters again. “Anyway, I should go to sleep…my bed is calling to me.”
“I should get him to bed as well,” Khimi says, standing up abruptly.
Ennui scoffs. “Spoiled thing,” she whispers with a hint of amusement. “You even carry him to bed?” she asks playfully. “Can’t he stand on his own? Does his daddy have to do everything for him?”
Khimi raises an eyebrow at Ennui. “Would you rather carry him?” he inquires as he lifts Lumi from the bench. Lumi stirs and wraps his arms around Khimi’s neck.
“I’d let him sleep on the ale-soaked floor if it were up to me,” Ennui replies, following behind Khimi with her pewter cup still in hand.
Khimi turns back to Ennui with a challenging look on his face. “Maybe I was too quick to assume your kindness,” he sneers.
“Let me get your door,” Ennui chuckles, then gasps jokingly. “Look! Another display of kindness,” she says, giving the slightest of bows.
Khimi reaches for the key in his pocket while jostling Lumi in his arms. Ennui quickly kneels beside the door, pressing a small pick through the pinhole. She presses the yellow door open, giving Khimi another mocking bow while he walks past her. She gives him an unnatural smile, and he offers one in return before pushing the door closed with his foot.
Ennui stands in the silent hallway, picking her pewter cup up from the tiles. She takes another swig of spirits before she heads to her room, reserved to the fact that she’s sleeping alone. She pauses, the bright, crimson door stares back at her, it’s sheen giving it a wet and glossy look. I would choose the bloody door. Taking a knee in front of the door, she places the pewter mug softly outside the room, attempting to be absolutely silent. She puts the tip of her shoe against the base of the door, shoving it open in a fluid motion. Hells, I knew it. A dark shadow hangs in the corner of the room. A tallow candle sits on the floor, the flame flickers, throwing a shallow light throughout the tiny area. Ennui closes the door behind her and strolls nonchalantly to the bed, throwing herself onto the scratchy sheets. As she stares up at the shifting patterns on the ceiling, a familiar voice speaks to her from the shadows.
“You got a little cultist to summon you here? A lot of trouble just to speak with me, Samael,” Ennui says coldly to the shadow.
“My sweet little Ennui,” it begins, “How you’ve really come into that name… it pains me to see you like this.”
Ennui snorts in response, not intimidated by the shadow’s presence. “Oh, having a good time?” she retorts sarcastically.
The shadow beams at her words, its gaping maw creating an unsettling image. “Precisely,” it replies in a soft and melodic tone.
Ennui rolls her eyes. “It’s been a while since anyone else could summon your true form here, huh?” she asks, a hint of amusement in her voice. “Who sent you back to the hells this time?”
The shadow smirks and moves back to its corner of the room, sliding along the wall like an ominous serpent. “What gives you the idea I went back to the hells?” it asks Ennui in a soft whisper.
“You used to show up whenever you wanted something. Now, you’re just puppetting a shadow,” she states flatly. “If you don’t mind, I’m rather tired.”
The shadow snickers. “Is that any way to treat an old friend?” it chides with a hint of annoyance. “My form doesn’t concern you, Ennui.”
Ennui chuckles under her breath. “Then what does concern me?” she asks coyly, playing along with the shadow’s game. “Tell me, what do I owe for this pleasure?”
“Nothing too far outside the scope of your usual skills,” the shadow begins, its tone almost pleading. “Can I depend on your—”
“Was it the person who sent you back to the hells?” Ennui cuts in sharply, interrupting the shadow.
The shadow sighs and audibly smacks its lips. “My dearest Ennui, it’s best you remember your place,” it says with exasperation.
“Right, right, you own my soul and all of that,” she replies nonchalantly, waving a dismissive hand. “Not like you’d ever give that back anyway.”
“How very perceptive,” the shadow says cheerfully. “At least I won’t come to reap my reward prematurely… as long as you’re willing to keep your role.”
Ennui rolls onto her side, facing away from the shadow. “If I snuff out that candle… will you go away?” she mutters to herself.
“You’re welcome to try,” the shadow responds with a mischievous twist and turn on the wall.
She closes her eyes, her tail thrashing against the bed in frustration. “What do you need from me this time? Do you need me to summon you back?” she asks, half speaking to herself.
“What makes you think I am back in the hells? I could just be biding my time in the empire with an old friend,” the shadow says, sounding dejected. “Mephisto has been there for some time,” it whispers menacingly.
Ennui chuckles, her dark eyes glinting in the low light. “Hmph! C’mon, just tell me who got you this time.”
The shadow seems to consider her words before finally answering, “A sun priest of all things…” it mutters softly.
Ennui nods along as she listens to the shadow’s story. “You let one of those pompous Lorians do you in?” she asks with a smirk.
The shadow scoffs. “Do me in?! Tch! If it was an actual fight, it would be one thing… but they lured me into a shrine and banished me. They wouldn’t have stood a chance otherwise.”
“You sound confident,” Ennui whispers, leaning in closer. “So you do need me to summon you back?
The shadow falls silent for a long moment, causing Ennui’s heavy eyelids to droop. The excess of alcohol she had consumed earlier begins to take its toll and she starts to drift off to sleep.
“You’re going to bring me back,” the shadow says quietly, breaking through her drowsiness.
“Anything else, Samael?” Ennui yawns lazily.
The shadow snickers again, a grating sound. “Travel to Cochon,” he mumbles. “Bring me back there… or with the other daughters.”
Ennui’s expression turns to one of annoyance as she responds in a sharp tone, “Samael, how about you kindly fuck off.”
“Since you asked so kindly,” the shadow taunts, the wick of the candle sizzling softly before finally going out.
Ennui forces herself from the bed, moving to the open window, she places her hand on the curtains, the cool night air rushes against her cheeks. Cochon of all places… she pulls the curtain closed, shrouding the room in absolute darkness. The incantation leaves her lips, the beautiful and dark language of the devils echoing around her. Her eyes glow with an unnatural aura in the darkness. Approaching the tallow candle on her desk, Ennui extends a hand over the extinguished wick. Suddenly, light floods across the room and her shadow dances on the wall behind her. The wick burns, painfully forced to consume its remaining length. A faint squeal, like that of a croaked frog, emanates from the flame before it snuffs out completely. The wax melts and drips onto her boots as she stares blankly at the scorch marks left on her desk. Her eyes fade back to their normal bloody crimson as darkness once again engulfs the room, leaving Ennui alone with her thoughts.
Daughters of Samael…