The Bane of Light

Arrival

The shrill noise of the intercom awoke me out of my slumber once more, beeping throughout the room frantically like a panicked bird call. This time, I did not bother accepting the call. It seemed Daphne also shared my impatience this morning, as she allowed her voice to fill my room regardless.

"Eulalia" Her voice was clipped and tight her irritation disguised thinly. If I had been more tired, I would not have picked up on it. Ah. So she had discovered the undisrupted wards, left in the stead of my midnight wanderings.

She must have been berated by my mother for it, and for obvious reasons at that. It was a security concern if any one could go as they please without the wards hindering them, especially considering the large amount of guests that were about to be accepted into her home in a few hours. Too few hours to do anything about the wards.

My lips curled up at the frustration I sensed from both their ends. Mainly Wilhemine's. She was agitated that I had bested her, even if it was in something as arbitrary as the wards in her home. She hadn't figured out how I could do it. If she had, she would have figured out how to prevent it. She would have figured out how to hinder my tiny loophole.

She did not realize that when the wards had been first created, they had not been created with Shadow Syphoner of Fontaine blood in mind; a fact I had learned purely on accident. I would not be able to slip through shadows so easily, sidestepping the wards, had I not been a Fontaine. The wards were not set in place against Fontaine's. The original castors never anticipated that the Fontaine's would produce a Dark Practitioner, so they neglected to include them at all in their wards. They deemed it impossible. Their own prejudice was the cause of their failure.

"Yes, Daphne" I yawned out to her, placing a hand on my curved mouth. I stretched out like a cat, relishing the way several pops emitted from my back. Even my mood was blithe, despite the scanty amount of sleep I had gotten.

"You have a guest. An unexpected guest" She bit out. Ah. Him.

I couldn't help the trill of excitement that coursed through me at the sound of her words. Paris was here. My eyes snapped open. I jumped up from my makeshift blankets on the floor, rubbing the dreariness out of my eyes.  Beastly had planted himself on top of a mound of pillows in one corner of the rug. He had managed to get out sometime in the night, nuzzling himself under my arm and falling asleep at my side. Had I not been so exhausted, and had Beastly not been hurt, evoking pity from me, I would not have allowed myself to be so crass.

I would have relocated myself and the blankets to the shadow realm. Only I had been too tired to do so, and too lazy to shower the scent of deceased demon rank off of me in the morning, after being forced to spend a long night sleeping amongst demon bones. I opted for comfort, making sure Beastly remained at my side. This could have become a mistake I would pay dearly for. The Fates had shown me their mercy last night.

Making sure not to rouse the demon, who's deep, asthmatic inhales and exhales could be heard rumbling under the mound of blankets, I quickly slipped on my slippers, before bolting out of the room without a second thought. I was not worried that anybody would walk in on Beastly. Nobody had entered my room in years, and even servants hardly roamed the fourth level. The cameras in my room had also been removed years ago, so concern for Beastly was tucked away in the back of my mind.

What did occupy my mind though, was concern with what I looked like. The switch had come so suddenly that I could hardly understand where it came from. The black sweat pants and sweatshirt I wore, were covered in Beastly's hair, though it did not noticeably contrast from the black material. It still looked messy, making me bite my bottom lip. I did not know why I was so suddenly self conscious of my attire, or of my staticky hair, which was pulled up into a bun. White, messy strands flew free, and I quickly used my hands to slick them down.