Diana's life was hell before Hell became Diana's afterlife. Her sole, solitary wish was to live peacefully alone.
Unexpected circumstances, however, bring her to the Hazbin Hotel. She must learn to adapt to her new dynamic surroundings and her new c...
"... difficile est la route qui mène à la fougère fleurie, seuls ceux qui ont un coeur pur empli d'humilité y parviendront."
- Marie-Laure Viriot
The bowstring trembles between my fingers as the target, a wild boar, grazes peacefully in the clearing.
A week has passed since my introductory hotel session, a week in which I've gone to great lengths to avoid my new neighbours. Avoid anyone, in all honesty. Sometimes, I feel slightly guilty. Charlie offered me a place to live in exchange for my involvement in her project, but then I remind myself what my presence did to them, what it might do to them - far worse.
Therefore, the explanation of me finding comfort in these woods. Half of my time is spent here hunting down any hell-born creature to sell later. I always remember to save something for the hotel: two rabbits, one deer, three squirrels. Anything to justify my stay a little. Still, I'm saving much more money than I expected, since I don't pay any rent or taxes. The other half I endlessly try to hone my abilities as much as I can, spurred on by my stupid mistake. As positive as my hunting turns out to be, mastering my skills is proving just as negative. It's like trying to catch smoke – it just slips through my fingers. It's like I know the direction where my destination is, but I'm utterly lost. The more I try to summon them, the more frustrating it is. Either I attempt to teleport, only to stumble and fall, or try to conjure shadows and stare into nothing like a complete idiot. Not only I am left exhausted at the end of the day, but my lack of control over my powers, and thus the situation, threatens to suffocate me.
With a grim smile, I realise that both halves are meant to balance my mood.
It was much the same in my life as well. A constant balance between what I needed to do and what I avoided doing. Nothing exciting for my natural craving for challenges, but perfect for what I needed. It was freedom and independence, two things I'd longed for all my life. And, of course, it was all about the long game. Everything for me is about the long game.
Sure, it sounds strategic, but there were times when boredom threatened to blind my logic. Ten years of the life of a nomad, travelling around Europe and changing identities, homes, countries and languages might sound exciting, and at times it was, but it also meant constant hunting, trading and always watching my back. Years became patterns.
Until I met her.
La fleur de Minuit
☽
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The mountains have always beckoned me, even though my childhood was spent between the hills and sea cliffs of the Shetland Islands. That was why I set my sights on the great heights of the Alps, Carpathians or Balkans as my haven.
