A Tale of One Deviant (Book One)

Chapter 6: This Time, I Meet Him! Finally, Dang It!

As soon as Aloire left, Mother woke up with a start. I fell forward, crashing onto my face with a cry on the mattress, almost plummeting off the bed from the force of her flying up. She had bolted upward and...nothing happened to her. It feels like I'm the unlucky one while she's filled with dumb luck. Our LUC stats are definitely reversed with the stat from the time before hers went up to 40.

     "It's night already! Fir, why didn't you wake me up!"

     She hopped out of bed while leaving me squirming on my stomach.

     I tried earlier, when I thought I was going to be a Demon's dinner! Muscle brain!

     "They are here! Fir, Daddy's home! Let's go!" She yelled, about to scoop me up like she did before. The solemn attitude she had before we went to bed was nowhere to be found, which made me wonder if that was also just a dream.

     She paused at just the right moment, considering something. Then, she gently picked me up with both hands and held me like a loving mother who cared about her daughter's life should.

     Thank you Magaris. Looks like our little run-in earlier was worth something.

     But Mother still tore out of her room faster than a lightning bolt. I was jostling and hitting my chin on her shoulder, thankful that I didn't have teeth. My gums were burning though.

     We ran through the halls until we reached the grand staircase. There hadn't been a single soul or sleeping body in sight, which was curious since Mother had awakened from the spell.

     We went out into the large front courtyard where all of the servants had gathered.

     Dear Lord, how did they all get here so fast?! Aloire had just left like, three minutes ago, and they had just congregated here that shortly?

     Like nothing had ever happened, they were all chattering and buzzing as the guards were getting ready to open the gates. The party of lights was still ten pouriks (twenty meters) away from us, yet people were already calling out to each other. Names were shouted, joyous responses came. More names were shouted, yet some never answered. To those people who had yelled for their friend or lover from this side, shock came. They stood numbly there until someone called back at them and they snapped out of it, crying for that other person.

      It was a mix of joy and sadness, but the one that affected me the most was when Mother called out, "DEAR! WHERE ARE YOU!" Right in my ears...

     "Poor Fir..." some of the passerby said as I tried to reach up and cover my ears. My eyes were watering with tears, but I held them in and sniffled, not shedding a single one.

     "Madame, it's cold out tonight. Why don't you put this on?" The Head Maid, who I hadn't seen in an extremely long time, came up and placed a linen jacket over her shoulders. Head Maid took me from my mother as she pulled it on, and started putting another two layers on me as well as a black cap so I blended into her uniform. I was thankful because I had been starting to sneeze and get a runny nose. "We can't have the young miss getting sick now."

     "Yes, thank you. I ran out in a hurry because I was too excited," Mother smiled sheepishly while ducking her head down.

     "Raise your head. I know how excited you are to see the Earl again and show off your pride and joy," Head Maid smiled back, strict demeanor wearing off ever so slightly. Amazing, it actually wavered...

     "Very much so!"

     "Now, we should move towards the front. The gates are opening."