Crimson Eclipse
Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
Time had been kinder to several things, but she supposed that this was to be expected from the years of neglect. Vines hanging over the brick and taking root in the crevices, obscuring the words carved into the pale wall.
As she grabbed the vines and began to pull them away from the wall, the words slowly became more and more visible to her. As she began to read the familiar writing, she felt all sense of reality slip away as everything became dark…
“-Shin Makoku if you were to agree.” Gwendal said calmly.
He and Gunter looked almost ready to bolt for the door so clearly he must have just said something that they knew she was going to be upset about. “Uh, Gwendal, I heard the last seven words of what you were saying.” Jaela said with a small grin. “My attention was kind of diverted elsewhere.”
If he didn’t know firsthand how irritating it was when he had to repeat something that was actually of great importance, Yuri would have laughed at the look on Gwendal’s face. “I was saying how it would be important to Shin Makoku if you were to agree.” Gwendal repeated himself calmly.
“Oh, the getting knocked up thing. Nah, I think I’ll pass.”
“It could be a new beginning for the demon seer community.” Lord von Gyllenhaal offered.
“Now I know how the pandas on Earth feel.” Jaela commented as she looked back at her brother.
Yuri fought the urge to laugh before answering, “You’re not half as cute as a panda.”
Jaela grinned slightly before answering, “And yet I feel like one with the whole ‘gotta breed for the sake of the species’ thing.”
“Don’t make our nightmares come true, that’s all I gotta say.”
The woman laughed as she stood up before answering, “Well, you heard the mighty Demon King. Me reproducing is one of his worse nightmares and he doesn’t want that particular nightmare to come true.”
“Sit.” Stoffel said calmly. “We’re not done talking to you.”
“That’s funny cause I’m done talking to you.”
Brushing her black hair from her face, the woman left the room much calmer than she felt. Yuri groaned softly upon realizing where she was going before sighing. “I’m sorry about her. My sister has a very wild spirit and she hates doing anything that anybody wants her to do.” Yuri said as he rubbed the back of his head. “Usually we just make a suggestion and hope that she thinks it’s a good idea.”
“How long does she usually take to think about any given idea?” Waltorana questioned calmly.
Yuri looked thoughtful for a moment before answering slowly, “Well, it depends on who exactly is making the offer. Since Gwendal was talking to her about it, she might think about it although I’m certain she’ll be setting up a few terms of her own.”
“Such as?” Stoffel questioned.
Yuri shrugged slightly before answering, “If I knew exactly what was going on in my sister’s mind, I’d have gone insane years ago. I have yet to see anybody that could stand Jae-chan’s thought process.”
It was honestly a wonder why the young Maoh hadn’t gone insane to begin with seeing as he understood what went on in the woman‘s head. If how they acted around each other now was any indication of how they acted towards each other as children, then the two came close to killing each other on several occasions. Even their ‘fights’ in the courtyard made everybody whom watched it anxious since both had an uncanny ability to make their expressions match each other’s perfectly.
“What exactly is your opinion regarding your sister?” Lady von Rochefort questioned with a truly curious look. “What kind of woman is she?”
Ugh, he hated it when people wanted to know his opinion about his sister. It wasn’t like he paid much attention to the stuff that people often looked for when they first laid eyes on her. “She’s loyal to people she decides that she likes.” Yuri said with a thoughtful look. “I honestly can’t think of any way that would accurately describe her. Right now her main problem is that she’s feeling like she’s being pushed into a corner and that’s one place she hates being in.”
“Which would explain why she was clearly refraining from making so many rude comments and threats.” Gunter said in understanding.
“Yeah. I know she doesn’t have a problem with you or Gwendal since she knows you guys, but it’s everyone else that she doesn’t know for certain. All she has to work with are visions of the past which I’m certain probably aren’t very flattering.”
Lord von Radford smiled slightly in understanding before answering, “It would perhaps help if we knew her as well. Then we could perhaps come to an understanding.”
“That might be pushing it a bit.” Gwendal answered calmly.
“You doubt that she can be reasoned with?” Stoffel questioned with an amused look.
Gwendal frowned slightly before replying, “From what I’ve observed, Jaela has a very good sense on what people expect from her. My family will not be attempting to introduce her to a husband.”
“Neither will mine.” Gunter agreed.
“I suppose I’d better not. My sister will have my head if she found out that I was planning on anything.” Lord von Karbelnikoff said with a small smile.
“Yeah, I think Jae-chan and Anissina both have been getting along quite well.” Yuri chuckled with a nervous look.
Okay, so three families had decided not to go ahead and have someone court Jaela but there were still seven nobles that thought it would be a good idea. Not to mention there were nobles that didn’t play a large part in how things were run in Shin Makoku that more than likely would have heard that the crimson-eyed woman was currently up for grabs. “Well, then it’s probably a good thing my family won’t be seeking your sister’s hand.” Lord von Karbelnikoff chuckled.
“You’re all welcome to stay here as long as you’d like and if you’re feeling brave enough you can attempt to get to know my sister,” said the Maoh with a smile. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a sister to hunt down.”