Lunaria: Genesis

6- Rules

Prae Sul has me wait in another room for the Lady of the Vino family to come meet me. It's a small, quaint room, couches along the walls and a small table with bowls of candies in the center. There isn't much to do in the room, but I normally don't do anything anyways. After sitting in silence for I don't know how long, I hear Prae and I assume the Lady coming down the hallway. The door rattles and opens slowly, and I first see Prae and then the other woman. She is tall, about in her forties, and thick. She has dark skin, her brown hair pulled into a tight bun. When she saw me her face melted into a surprised smile. I stood up to bow lowly to her. She walks up to me slow, with an excited look on her face.

"Oh, she is just too precious. Hello, child. My name is Susette Vino, but you should call me Lady Vino. What is your name?" She asks in a very airy way, bending down so her eyes are at my level. Her face up close looks pinched and tense, she has wrinkles around her mouth from frowning, and furrows in her brow. Her eyes are a cold dark violet.

"... Lunaria" I say softly. She tilts her head.

"Alright then, Lunaria, you will be coming home with me today. You are going to love the new place." She said. Prae came in too, leading us as we walked out the room and to the front steps of the temple. Prae turned to me, crouching down so that only I could hear her.

"This is where we part ways, Lunaria. Don't worry about anything, Lady Vino will take good care of you. If you are in need of anything at all, you come to me, understand?" She says, and I nod my head. "Good. Then I guess this is goodbye. You will do great." She said, standing up and waving goodbye as Lady Vino lead me away from her and the temple. By the time the temple was out of sight, she hasn't said anything. The air felt very tense and off.  Abruptly, she spoke without turning to look at me.

"If you want to stay with me, you need to follow my rules. Break my rules, and I will punish you. First rule, only speak when you are told. Your soft squeaky little voice can and will be annoying and I would hate to have to hear it constantly in my house. Second rule, do exactly what I say, when I say to do it, no exceptions. I don't care if you are physically unable to do what I ask, you better find a way and make it fast. Third rule, you are not to be seen, unless I ask for you. Stay out of my way, I liked it before when I had my home to myself, and I would like for it to stay that way. Fourth rule, every waking moment you have that is not doing something I asked, is time you could be training. You have no more free time, you will be training so you can be stronger and earn me more money. Follow these rules and we will get along just fine. Have I made myself clear?" She says. My face drains of what color was left, I feel like a great weight was placed on my chest, making it hard to breathe. I am unsure if the ground is swimming under me or if my knees are shaking horribly. I don't like this situation, it is just going to lead to how it was before I got into the hospital. I slowly nod my head, and she snaps, whipping her head around to glare at me.

"I can't hear you! Say 'Yes, Lady Vino', or I will punish you!" She barked. Her eyes bore into mines with real threat, I flinch and step backwards.

"Yes, Lady Vino. I apologize." I say, my head bows and looking at the ground. I don't want to ever again look into her eyes, they are ice cold and make me remember being beaten by someone else. She huffs, and turns back around, continuing to walk.

"That's better. I accept your apology. Now was that so hard?" She says and we continue walking in silence. I feel like I am walking further into a darkness I cannot return from, back to the same hell I came from. We continue on in silence, she walks ahead of me and I behind, looking at the ground. The trees begin to thin out until we are in a large grassy place with rolling hills. She stops and has me stand beside her.

"Everything you see here is mine. Forty acres of vineyards and fields on the left, and training grounds with storehouses on your right. Atop the tallest hill in the center is my house, where you will stay. But first, you will begin training, I will show you what you must learn." She says. She turns to her right and begins leading me to the low gray buildings. I glance over my shoulder to look at the vineyards, and they are beautiful seas of violet and green, appearing tranquil and peaceful, unlike where I am heading. She leads me inside one of the largest and longest buildings, and the first thing I see is a large fighting ring in the center of the room. The widest wall is covered in an array of weapons, and the other ends are where mannequins and practice targets hang. The room smells stale and sharp like polished metal.

"Have a good look around because you will spend most of your time here. You will fight here, you will maintain this building as if it were your's. You will learn to use every blade, staff, and bullet here and then more. Most of your time will be spent here and if I were to look for you this is the first place you should be." Lady Vino says. She walks over to the far end of the building and picks up a bow and a quiver of arrows. Notching one of the arrows she lines it up and after a moment of silence fires it across the room. It landed in the dead center of a target on the other side of the building, so far away it looked like a speck.  

"See that. This family has taken pride in becoming skilled in archery. You will learn the same." She said, forcing me to take the bow and arrows. "Go ahead, child. Show me what you know." She says in a taunting way, sure of herself that I was new to using weapons. Within that second I had the arrow notched and released from the bow, flying through the air into its intended target. The moment I shot the first one, I was already notching the second, with no hesitation to aim or wait for a reaction, I shot that one and then the third. The first arrow shattered though Lady Vino's, thrusting deep into the target. The second one split the previous in two, landing exactly in the same dead center as the first, and the third landed in the same point with so much force the target cracked into two. Lady Vino stared blankly at the display, then glared angrily at me, her eyes blazing. I thought that was what she wanted, I assumed she wanted to see me succeed. Her lips curls back into a snarl and she snatches the bow and quiver from me.

"You think you can just show me up, huh. I'll show you to respect your elders. Hold out your arms!" She hisses, and I lift my arms obediently. She takes and arrow and sharply lashes it across my wrist, causing striking pain and bright welts to appear, my pale skin swelling up red. She turned without a word, dropping both the bow and arrows and leaving the building with me slinking behind her, rubbing my sore skin. She takes me to her house, it is large and white. It must be at least four stories, with a wrap around balcony and the family crest on the front door. She has still not spoken as she walks inside and up staircases until she reaches a hidden stairway to the attic. Leading me inside the attic is filled with stale layers of dust and old sheets covering the furniture. The roof is slanted, there is a small bed beside a little window, and there is a dresser with a mirror on top. The room is big enough so that I can stretch out both of my arms, but if I lean over I could touch either sides if I stand in the middle. The bed has a worn mattress, and the window is on the slanted roof facing the west vineyards. I appreciate a lot of it, I've never had my own bed before, or my own room like this, excluding the hospital which I wasn't conscious for most of my time there.

"You are to clean all this up before you leave, it should be spotless. There is a bathroom to your right where you will find cleaning supplies. You don't need to know about any other rooms of this house since you only need two locations, so I hope not to catch you wandering about. Have I made myself clear?" She said curtly. I look down at the floor, avoiding her eyes.

"Yes, Lady Vino." I say, and she turns to leave me to begin cleaning my new room alone.