Somewhere Someplace

Another busy day was drawing to its end, dusk dawning. The junior maids made their way away from their groups and the seniors encharged, towards the meal room so that they could have supper. Besides, of course, one specific junior who remained outside, being reprimanded harshly. Yet that junior simply stood there, barely present, unable to even care, perhaps barely even understanding any of the yelling words being hurled.

She was dragged off to be disciplined yet again, tolerances becoming so thin with this one. It would be a miracle if she was not expelled by the month's end. Yet due to the staffing shortage, there was no doubt a hesitancy to get rid of any more hands.

Moon had simply watched from the window as Apple had yet another incident out there, her hand gently pressed upon it… She was tired, this girl; proper sleep was such a luxury. There were just so many things to be stressed about…

"Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"The rumors…"

"Regarding?"

"The count of Strawberry is…convening a council with the counts of Raspberry, Blackberry, and Dewberry… Essentially all of the bulge besides West Cherry. I heard their vice counts will be there too."

"…whence did you hear this?"

"…from the others, I do not know. Someone must have overhead when Earl Walnut was here the prior day."

"Well… What does this mean?"

"I do not know… But I overhead murmuring about the count of Humbleberry also having a possible attendance."

"Does this… Might this be it? If Humbleberry is going to be there… What about Riverberry?"

"I do not know… But doubtless Riverberry shan't matter; the Company controls the Divide now…"

"Do you… Do you think…they might attempt secession? Or… Gods' sacred, is the war going to spread here?"

"…I do not…know… It may depend on the Company; I have heard of a condemnation, so…this could…be their machinations. Sir Walnut is convinced suchly, from what I overheard… And with all of their balloons, they must be preparing for something."

"This is…deeply unsettling… Neither their boats nor damned balloons will matter if Grandberry sends her veteran griffons to butcher us as she did Humbleberry or the Tree-Fiends—This estate might be distant, but I have family in the villages…"

"…me too… We must hope that the rumors of divine intervention are true."

"Those absurd rumors might very well be the death of us… The Strawberriens are so stupid… Why can they not see we are better off at peace?"

Frankly, such whispers were not helping.

Leaving that window, Moon promptly departed away from those gossiping maids. The last thing she wanted to ponder was the politics of the bigger world; the idea that the war…could be coming here. Frankly, one of the hopes of even making it here, to a manor-estate of the nobility, was precisely to escape from all of that—the perpetual fear that their own village was next.

Of course, her mother had also said that she ought to never shy away from…opportunities—if an…accident happened, then, well… it happened.

It was a forever-known open secret that many lowborn mothers would send their daughters to become servants of such higher blooded estates with a hidden and largely implied hope: hypergamy.

Though, really, for Moon it was dumb fun, and there was nothing wrong with that.

Though, there seemed to be something wrong with her.

"Whispering, whispering, whispering…" she muttered so faintly over and over; "Leave my head, please…" She gritted her teeth with a slight jitter, before relaxing with an exhale… "I will need to…check on Apple." She decided.

Diverting her course, Moon thus made her way through the halls of this estate to do precisely that; although there were…some signs of spatial navigation struggle, she managed to nevertheless keep track of where she was. Yet lost astray in her thoughts, she became inattentive…

And this only made the sudden grabbing of her shoulder all the more startling. Indeed, her whole figure twirled about with surprise.

"Ahh!" Moon fell down onto her buttocks, in fact, during the recoil, bewildered with a sudden sweat. Yet she quickly simmered as she saw… "Miranda…?" She seemed surprised.

"Heya, Moon…" Miranda, indeed, so greeted whilst standing before this sad sight… She had been waiting for her right around that corner—for how long, she was never going to answer. "Didn't mean to give you a fright, sorry… Haha…" She found it hard to be as cheery; her mellow voice felt somewhat awkward.

Moon wiped her face before standing up. "You are…here…? You…are…interacting with…me?" Indeed, she was trying to really…comprehend that. "I thought you would…never…ever…"

"Yeah…" Miranda so replied… "Here am I, talking to you…" Only after mulling over it for…perhaps too many wasted days. "You have been desiring to discourse with me, righty-right?" She was trying to be the usual teaser, but it did not feel like it was natural.

"Yes…" Moon's eyes were serene like the moonlight itself with the astonished relief that was appearing… "Yes… Yes! I have been…so desperate, because… Because—I need your help—I need…your… Your…" She struggled to even articulate.

Miranda just padded Moon's shoulder with a gentle and warm touch. "There, there; I know, I know… I am just that great, hehe… Shall we walk?"

"Oh…" Moon's eyes withdrew a little… "I… I was going to see Apple firstly, uhm… But…"

"We can…walk that way and chat still?" Miranda stated.

"No, but… With you, I wanted to…" Moon's breaths were obviously uncertain… "Library… The library, I wanted to—I would prefer that we…went thither…for this…"

"The…library?" Miranda tilted her head.

"Yes, that is whither I have been heading whenever expending my…allowed time." Moon thus said; "Usually, Black would be the one to…manage Apple whenever she… But I do not want to burden…her anymore, because…"

"I know…" Miranda spoke, voice quite mellow and slightly low; "Black, I saw her…a couple nights ago…"

"Yes. She told me…" Moon replied; "You helped her, and you…saw her…condition…"

"It's, uhm, yeah… It's really…weird, not going lie to you—and I am not one to be disturbed, really. But…" Miranda was cordially awkward… "That was…disturbing, haha…"

Moon's breaths tensed for a moment… "We…really are going to talk, then…?" She wanted clarification; she wanted certainty. "You…will listen to me, then? Even if…whatever I have to say seems bizarre, nonsensical, or absurd; even if you know nothing, will you... Will..."

"I'll hear you out, Moon." Miranda reassured. "I promise."

Moon, indeed, felt reassured; the relief only expanded within… "Alrightly… Then, I will leave Apple to her fate for now… I cannot waste this opprotun—"

"No, we can go fetch her quickly." Miranda interposed; "She can come along with us."

"…are you for sure?" Moon asked.

"Yeah. Don't worry about it!" Miranda began to walk; "Let's go and rescue her, hehe…"

Yet to her surprise…

"No…" Moon abruptly said.

Miranda paused in kind, looking at the girl.

"…I do not want…distractions from this… Library first, please…" Moon, her eyes facing down, had changed her mind. "Apple…will only be a distraction, and…I do not want to burden her more… We need to talk, only me and you…"

"Al…alrightly." Miranda just nodded her head… "Library it is then… You lead the way, captain girl…"

-||-

It was quiet, this part of the labyrinthian manor. With the sun having mostly set, most were at supper or in their dorms to rest from the day. Miranda, however, did not like it when things became too quiet. She was, naturally, a rather social thing.

"So, library…" She thus broke the silence and began to chit-chat early. "You have been utilizing a lot of your 'afforded allocated time', aye?"

"Yes…" Moon glanced just a little, still walking… "I have been…reading much lately. Writing things down too… It helps keep me from…losing myself too much."

"Reading, huh?" Miranda so looked up, her hands casually resting upon the back of her head. "Well, I enjoy reading—or stories… I enjoy stories, wherever they may be."

"I have not been reading for…entertainment, Miranda." Moon, however, while cordial was not necessarily…in the mood for casual discourse. "I have been…searching for answers." she stated; "The others… They are not as…educated as me—I was tutored, my mother made sure I was…literate, as literate as feasible… The Far Western missionaries helped in this too, I was really blessed though…" She was losing her thoughts. "Anyway," she ahemed, "I can read proficiently… So, I made this my duty."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"…to find answers in…the Berrybottom's collection of random books?" Miranda remarked…

"You would be surprised… They keep a remarkable collection of fables, myths, and encyclopedias." Moon stated.

"En…ency…encyclopedias… That's, uhm, that's a foreign word alrighty, but… Rightly, hah! I know those!" She…actually did not know what…those were.

"I do not doubt your literacy, Miranda…" Moon stated, not seeing Miranda's awkwardness.

"Aha, thanks… But, uhm, anyway… You don't have to bring me all the way to the library to start chatting, Moon…" Miranda thus remarked; "Nobody here is around, so—"

"I… It has to be there." Moon, however, interrupted. "What I want to…talk about is so…beyond any of this…anything that… I… I shan't even risk the possibility of a rumor." She then looked at Miranda with quite the uneased eyes… "And you say we are alone, but… It… It actually does not feel so. It feels like there is something else here—always."

"…you…can feel…something else here?" Miranda raised an eyebrow…

"Yes." Moon very much stressed that whispery yes.

"Uhm… Alrightly, then…" Miranda simply nodded her head… That…could not possibly be what she was immediately thinking it could be.

"And the library is…the only place I feel…right in, paradoxically." Moon continued on, her eyes returning to the way ahead. "I know for certain that nobody is there presently, because I am always the only one there at this hour… And there, I will explain and…talk and… We shall…" Her voice was extremely anxious. "Just…wait, please, until we are there."

Miranda was no doubt getting the sense that… No matter what or where, Moon was going to struggle to explain or speak… Her anxieties were too…excessive, and her thoughts seemed messy; she was not in the right head space.

She knew what to do, however.

Abruptly, Miranda gently gripped Moon's hand and pulled her aside for a pause, holding the girl close to her person. Moon was immediately flustered, however Miranda did not let her speak. "It's alright, Moon…" Her quiet voice was so soft and mellow; "You're so scared and on edge…" She lifted Moon's still held hand up, locking her in. "But I am here now. I am talking to you… And you can talk to me, no matter where… I am here—nothing else… Only me."

Having been brought so close, Moon could feel the warmth of Miranda's breaths and figure. She felt tight and secure; for all she saw were Miranda's soothing eyes, dimly outlined, and her sweetly face…as if there was nothing else behind, nothing else around… It was comfortable, where she was; a comfort she had not felt in a while. Within these arms, she felt safe and shielded.

There were jitters in her jaw as her eyes became watery.

"…I can talk…" She trembled, pressing against Miranda slightly… "You will listen to me, rightly?" Her tense voice was mellowly quiet as well.

"Yes. I already said…" Miranda replied.

"Miranda…" Moon looked up at Miranda with trembly breaths and shivery teeth. "What happened that day… What we did to Pink… Something happened to us, as I said, but… I think know what, and…I have read into this, but I believe…something—a great spirit, a god, that…whispering oceans…" Her breaths nearly sank inwards from even recalling that name… "It was not magic; something…possessed us, and in doing so…left a terrible curse…"

"Ah…" Miranda so muttered; "So, it wasn't your fault, then? You weren't responsible." Fuck, why did she say that?

"I admit…" Moon, thankfully, was still in the moment. "I had thoughts, I had…fantasies of enacting things upon that girl… But… But…" She gripped onto Miranda, almost desperately so; "I am telling you—I am telling you… There is no other explanation, and the curse is real—we were cursed, and it is…slowly eating us." She began to tear up… "I need you believe me, please, I need you to—"

"I believe you…" Miranda so softly said, gently stroking Moon's hair. "Don't worry… I believe you…"

"…you… You do?" Moon looked at her with those eyes… "You really…do? You believe me?"

"Yeah…" Miranda's pheromone-carrying breaths so reassured. "I believe you… I know you were cursed."

Moon's own grip tightened as she fell into Miranda's chest, her breaths deepening as tears began to drip and flow. "So, what do we do?" She really wanted to know. "What do we do about this? I wanted your consul because you are elvish; you innately know more about these things than any of us would… I don't know what to do, Miranda, we are losing who we were…" She so quietly cried.

There was a momentary chatter to Miranda's teeth, her breaths tensing just a little… Maybe she did feel…somewhat bad for her; for them… Deep breath in; deep breath out; Miranda exhaled… "Let's find out."

"Huh?" Moon, sniffling, gazed her strained and teary eyes up at Miranda.

"To the library we go." Miranda so said, smiling; "Show me…what you have been reading and…what you've found."

-||-

It was dark, night having long fallen. Although, darkness was not a problem considering Miranda had lit the oil-lamps which were providing illumination. They had been here for a few hours now; though, the energy still seemed quite high.

"This one! This one!" Moon enthusiastically brought rather the chunky book from one of the shelves, plopping it onto one of the wide desks that were within this personal library. "I am sorry that took some time, but I found it!"

"It's alright… We both prefer the night, don't we?" Miranda was cordial, unaffected.

A reoccurring issue was that, despite Moon's prior reading ventures in this library, she could not seem to remember where she had last placed any of the books she was interested in. In fact, sometimes she did not seem to remember…what the book was despite remembering its contents.

"It seems someone had moved this one too, for I was certain it was in…" Moon shook her head. "Whatever. Come, friend." She waved, opening the girthy book.

Miranda promptly went and peeked from above Moon's shoulder.

"So, this is…one of the books that I found that are about, uhm…ancient…uhm…" With a lick to her finger's tip, Moon flipped the pages as if she was trying to…remember… "Curses, ancient spiritual curses… Apparently, it is elvish."

"…definitely looks like one of those ominous books." Miranda so remarked… Indeed, it almost stereotypically did. "You were right… This library is really weirdly stacked…"

"I suppose the Sir is a collector, but… Hm…" Moon tried to stay focused. "Trrÿnoth…bwlloph, egh… How did I read this? It is some dialectal old elvish.."

"…" Miranda gave her a stare. "Whaat…? You can read that?" She was actually astonished.

"Yes?" Moon simply gave her the plainest glance. "I told you that…these are the books I was reading?"

"…yeah, but, uhm…" Miranda looked at the text… "This is not even manling text—man text, not…" Shit. Nobody here actually used that word…

"…manling?" Moon titled her head, before gently shaking it. "Anyhow, regardless," she wanted to stay on point, "my mom desired that I know…more of the older tongues so that I could improve my odds of being selected. She figured a well-spoken—"

"Rightly, I get that," yet Miranda interjected, "but you were a peasant! Peasants aren't known for being able to read at all, let alone elvish tongues, let alone dead elvish tongues… So, how…?"

Moon, again, just plainly looked at her. "Oh, well… I grew up in a village—Cuteberry—which is near Heartberry in Raspberry, and there were an excessive number of Far Westerners with…nothing better to do." she explained, eyes returning to the book; "Some of them were missionaries; they wanted to 'enlighten' us. But they had a wise elf slave, and that is…from whom I learned. I was very young, and it was…awfully easy."

"Hm…" Miranda so tapped her chin, as if thinking… "Wow, you are a lot…more interesting than I thought you to be. I think I changed my heart." She looked at her. "I wanna eat you now…"

"…uhm…" Moon also looked at her… "I mean, we are…alone…" Was she…actually considering it? "But… I have lacked any…of my previous…drives. I have lost my desires…"

"Thank mother for that…" Miranda exhaled… She was just joking, though she had no idea what she would have actually done if Moon had seriously made a sudden advance. "Anyway, you wanted my consul even though you can read ancient elvish…stuff…" she remarked, turning her attention to the book; "What's the book about?"

"Many things…" Moon so replied; "On this page, though… It regards a powerful spirit who possessed all of the virgins of a forbearing village and forced them to fuck their brothers and eat their mothers."

"…yeah…" Miranda sighed… "This is definitively one of those books…"

Moon ahemed, flipping the page… There were even illustrative depictions in this thing. "But the interesting issue of this spirit is…after it possessed the virgins, it left behind a terrible blight—a curse—that rotted their souls… They were shunned and forced into the forests by their kin, whereafter they become seductresses who preyed upon the meekly."

"…" Miranda stood there as if blanking momentarily… "Huh…" Inclining herself down, she suddenly became more interested… "Can you move a little?" she requested, to which Moon obliged. She wanted to get a better look of this book and its contents… "Hm… That is interesting…" She leaned out. "I might have to read this myself…" It made her feel…weird, and…

Perhaps a little hurt on the inside… Memories' pain.

"Wait, you can read this too?" Moon meanwhile was perplexed almost.

"Huh?" Miranda snapped out of it. "Oh, of course I can!" She so proudly stood. "My mother taught me how to read… many…things, actually…" Indeed, she so recalled… "Honestly, it wasn't even really reading, she just kinda… I can't describe it…"

"Huh." Moon just looked at her, not actually too surprised. "Of course… You are elvish; you would know these older tongues."

"…you really believe elves are super smart, huh?" Miranda remarked.

"I was always told they were the wisest…" Moon so replied; "In the Legendary Age, they were the masters of magic and academics, the caretakers to the Child and Their knowledge… I admire them."

"Hm… That makes you slightly different from most, I guess…" Miranda proceeded to tap the page. "Anyway, book. You showed this to me, so… What do you want me to…"

"…" Moon just stared… "I…believe I just desired to…show it to you…" she thus said… "I wanted your senses. We both agree that a somethingness possessed us and left behind a curse, so… And you elves are attuned with spirits and magic, so…" She ahemed… "This story in this book, it was one of the closest I could find to describe our…predicament."

"Well…" Miranda was not even remotely an elf, hence the problem… "I am not…sure… I don't…know what to tell you…" She felt a little bad, maybe… "Same answer as with the other books… I am not really an elf-elf, you know…"

"Oh… Rightly…" Moon's eyes fell down slightly… "I knew I was…going way far ahead in my hopes that you would be some…magical key, but…I still believe you are more attuned with—"

"There is something wrong with you, though." Miranda said, completely honest…

Moon was taken aback by the blurt. "Huh?"

"I can…feel it, I guess…"

Indeed… The 'scent', so to speak… The emanation of their soul's trail and aura… Although perhaps Miranda could simply be mis-sensing what was a phantasm of her own decaying soul, for mother always said such falsehoods were not uncommon, there was something weirder about her and…them.

"I don't know a thing about…uhm…dead people—spirits and ghosts…" Miranda went on; "But I can…get a sense for the…eminence of the living. Don't ask me what I mean, though. It's a…weird little sense."

"…and…" Moon was immediately captivated… "you say…there is something wrong with me—us?"

"…" Miranda did not necessarily want to say 'even more poorly appetizing than before'… That was how she even knew there was something weirder… Not even the hunger wanted a bite. "The quality is worse…"

"…is that a metaphor?" Moon began to muse, before turning her lunar eyes to a shelf. "I suppose I should inquire…" She went to that shelf, searching for a book. "You can read many tongues?"

"…read, yeah. Don't ask me to discourse with them, though." Miranda replied. "To read is not to speak." As mother always said.

"Goodly known…" Moon continued searching through that shelf… "One thing I have realized is that reading has helped…with the curse, I think… That could be why I have not…become like the others yet; although, Burgundy is also not yet worsening… Her temper, though…" She finally retrieved a book and returned to the table. "This book… I only managed to deduce the title. It is some…medical book from eras prior, regarding blights of the soul and mind. The text is crude dialect, so I… I could not understand… I am not truly proficient." She turned to Miranda… "Mind if you make an attempt?"

Miranda leaned in and opened the book, squinting her eyes… "Uh… Disorder of…the neurotic…personality…"

Is that a diagnostic manual?

"…is this a manual of diagnosis?" Miranda blurted, before aheming… "Sorry, haha… Why'd I say that?"

"…how am I to know the reasons for your speaking?" Moon plainly asked. Though, she then jerked forth. "But, thus, you can read this??"

"…I can read…basically anything…" Miranda admitted…

There was a smile on Moon's face… "Fantastic!" She was very excited. "I feel confident we may find better answers in this one library, then… The collection is vast, and…you can read what…what I can't!"

"…yeah…" Miranda just replied… "I am a fast reader too…" Her eyes drifted astray… "Say, even if we…do find answers… What are you going to do about it?"

Moon's eyes too drifted away… "I do not know…" She was very honest. "However… I refuse to let myself—to let…us—degenerate and just…wilder to dust." She looked into Miranda. "Either I find…some solution here or… Apple… She is not…who she used to be; I am terrified that I am destined for that fate." There were tears in her eyes… "I am selfish; I want to save myself, but I also want to help them—I promised them, as the smartest…" Her eyes swayed away… "If you may continue humoring me, Miranda, it would…mean so much. I just…need help; I do not want to feel…alone."

Miranda's posture became awkward, her eyes atypically evasive and drifty… "Fine…" She sighed… "Whenever you need me, just find me… We can keep returning here and…see what we can discover." She smiled. "I like reading anyway, so… It works. I'll try to help in however way is suitable." Even if she felt that this would be useless.