"Gaal, come here! If you're not clean by sunset, Mommy and Daddy will get mad at me!" Lucahn shouted, visibly tired and breathing heavily through his mouth. "I won't be able to read my books to the lady who arrived today, and it will be your fault!"
From one of the second-floor windows, protected by the darkness between the wallpapered walls and the unlit power crystal lamps, Tristessa observed the backyard.
She saw Lucahn, having taken off his mustard-colored vest and shoes, chasing that large dog covered in mud from head to toe, expending the last bit of strength left in his old body. Seeing that animal alive was comforting, but Tristessa couldn't help but feel a chill run over her shoulders as she remembered that same animal, dead and rising under the control of that Divinity she possessed in addition to Death and Resurrection.
"I wish I could never use that ability again, but…"
No. This wasn't the time to think about that. Her gray eyes shifted to Tiara, who was hanging clothes on a line between two wooden posts near the house.
There was no way to negotiate with the housekeeper; that game was lost from the start. She couldn't lie to her; she would find out and instantly become her enemy, just as she had in the last nonexistent past. And she couldn't tell Tiara the whole truth either, or everyone might end up being killed by the Gradient of Madness that overwhelms all those who discover the existence of her primary Divinity.
She had no choice but to run away. Towards Entrana, the main city of the Domain of End-World.
"I'll apologize for stealing all this once the family is safe."
Tristessa bent down and checked the inside of a travel backpack she had taken from the hunter's maintenance workshop.
"Strips of dried meat, checked. A full water-skin, checked. A charged power crystal, checked. Another crystal whose light points north, checked. A fire starter stone, checked. A map hand-drawn by me… Abysmal, but checked."
One by one, she reviewed the resources she had gathered. Thankfully, one of the random broken memories of her past she had was about watching on the TV, among numerous programs, one about survival in the wilderness.
Her time in that house had allowed her to quickly locate everything she needed. It was a shame that the ancient topographical map of the territory currently encompassed by the Domain of End-World, saved from the age of royalty, had been so jealously guarded inside one of the sealed glass cases. That had forced Tristessa to make a copy using a sheet as old as papyrus and a piece of charcoal.
"And finally… A hunting knife, checked."
And not any hunting knife: it was the same weapon Tiara had used to stab her multiple times and then kill herself. Her hand trembled as she gripped the handle, but there was no other option, having experienced its effectiveness firsthand.
"Shit..."
Tristessa took a deep breath and sheathed the knife-edge, putting it in her backpack, before returning to the guest room.
As she entered, she saw the curtains moving in the morning wind. So many days in that place, it was so familiar that she felt nostalgic to leave, even having to deal with the trauma that Lucahn's lifeless, eyeless body had left in her... Just remembering it made her want to throw up.
"Ugh, come on, there's no time to waste!"
There was only one thing left to do: she went straight to the wardrobe and took out that black trench-coat she had worn only once, with Jin and Severus exploring the Sea of Trees. It clearly didn't match the mostly medieval appearance that the house had retained; it was quite possible Tiara had brought it from the city.
She dusted it off and put it on, feeling her body temperature rise almost instantly as she fastened those two belts around her chest and over her waist.
"There... Time to go," she whispered under her breath, and closed the wardrobe doors.
"Leaving so soon?"
Of course... Without turning around, Tristessa couldn't help but sigh. She wasn't naive enough to believe Tiara would stop eyeing a complete stranger who had arrived at the exiles' home that very morning. She knew the likelihood of being discovered was very high from the outset, but hearing the voice of that pregnant woman, who was leaning with her arms crossed against the doorframe, made her heart leap straight into her throat.
"I don't mind if you leave, but you're offending my husband's goodwill." Turning around, Tristessa saw a vain smile that reminded her a lot of her own mother. That smile she hated so much... "It'll hurt him if you leave without saying goodbye."
"Tiara..." Just saying her name made the black-haired girl want to spit on the floor to get that sour taste off her mouth. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and walked to the middle of the room, feeling insects scurrying under her skin every second she spent staring at that smile of hers. Truly, she hated that woman. "Move."
"Oh, how scary... If you look so coldly at people, you're likely to get hurt," she told her, ignoring her rude request and not moving an inch. "...you filled that backpack with so many things you didn't even know where to find hours ago."
"..."
It was only when the girl remained silent that her smile vanished, revealing that ill-mannered and suspicious grimace that characterized her so much.
"You're a spy, aren't you?" She asked darkly, and Tristessa felt the vein in her temple threatening to explode. History was repeating itself, over and over again, a product of that woman's paranoia. Justifiable, no doubt, but at the same time execrable for a girl like Tristessa who suffered so much because of it. "Your soul exhaling Discord like a fucking chimney, the way you came to this house covered in blood... You reek of a witch of the Coven."
That last word was key to an idea popping into Tristessa's head. A cruel idea, a product of the hatred she felt toward Tiara. A possibly effective idea.
An idea that involved destroying her spirit.