“Where is she?!” A pile of letters stacked upon a desk were blasted onto the ground. A maid in a simple worker’s gown stood in the doorway with empty hands. The other woman in the room, decorated with gold and silver jewelry around her face, neck, and hands was pacing around restlessly. “Where is my baby? My sweet, beautiful girl. Where?!” Her angered yelling didn’t make the maid flinch, but she did try to offer comfort.

“Soldiers are turning the residence upside down and inside out, so to speak, to find her, my Lady.”

“Well that isn’t good enough. She was supposed to be here already, but she is what? Gone? What did the bitch-ress say about it?”

“Mistress Lovyn gave an account of your daughter jumping off of the balcony on her own free will. She stated that she remembered it very, very precisely as it had, as she said, ‘burnt a hole’ in her memory.” The pacing woman stopped, then lashed out at the maid by lunging a hand at her. The body of the maid sunk in and then exploded outwards, sending metal shrapnel out into the hallway.

“I should have gone myself and taught her a lesson,” the woman said. She stepped over to the desk and picked up a letter from a man named Caviere. The person addressed was initialed E.E.- Elektra Everlock.

Elektra slid a finger along the seam of the letter and a thin, tiny pillar of fire singed the paper open. She took out the letter and opened it. “Oh, Caviere. Your variety of voices and phrases astound me sometimes,” Elektra said to herself while reading. “Wait, what’s this? Good news and bad news coming soon?” She finished the letter and immediately burned it in her hands. “What kind of news would I get these days? Everything is at a standstill either way.”

Carefully walking over the metal heels left in the doorway, Elektra went out into the hall. A metal statue stood at the end of it and it responded instantly after she snapped her fingers, going to diligently clean up its counterparts’ pieces. She walked along the hallways until she reached the main foyer. She took a right and ended up in the living space. She walked over, turned, and then dropped down sideways onto the lounge near a burning fire. She sighed, wiping away a few tears in her eyes. “I just want my baby back. Is that too much to ask for?”

Another maid walked over with a platter. Elektra took a glass of tea from it and began to sip as she spoke, “She is strong. Stronger than I could imagine. It would be horrid if she was taken and used for bad. Oh, my poor baby...” She turned over and rested her head in her arms on the arm of the couch. “You will be okay, won’t you, Emi? You better be, or I’ll...” She sighed and took a long drink from her glass. She made a slightly confused face, then looked at the maid with the platter. “What’s in this?”

“Vanilla tea, Madame, with a splash of rum,” the statue responded, as if waiting to give the answer.

“Huh. What time is it?”

“The sun is directly overhead, Madame.”

“Oh. Is it bad that I’m drinking spiked tea this early?”

“You did not create me to think, Madame.”

“Well, maybe I should in the future. A good worker knows how to think on their own.”

“If you say so, Madame.”

“Ugh, go get me a real person.”

“Right away, Madame.” The maid turned on its heel and was gone in seconds. Its *click click click*s down the hall were constant and quite distinctive, just the way Elektra liked them. After a few minutes, the statue returned with a man in formal combat attire, that being durable yet flexible leather armor and two holsters for swords. His hair was absent on the right half of his head while the rest was short and brushed to the left. A scar cut through his left eye but his eye seemed fully undamaged. “You called, Lady?”

“What did I say about the whole ‘Lady’ business?” Elektra had turned over again by now and was sitting with her drink held out to the side.

He saw her slightly dazed expression and the drink, then sighed. “Again, this early? You know it isn’t healthy for you. Something bad can happen.”

“Says the man who jumps into the battle every chance he has.”

“Only because I have the greatest mage in Mercelon to put me back together again.”

“Hm, I wouldn’t go so far as to say I am the greatest. Others have great power but just haven’t unlocked it yet.”

The man stayed quiet for a moment, then suggested, “Still worrying about Emily?”

Elektra looked down, and then broke out into tears. He went over to comfort her, but then stayed back. “She’s going to be alright, Elektra. You know she is powerful enough to be on her own.”

Elektra, in between sobs, said, “But she doesn’t... the world isn’t... she’s not ready.”

“You taught her how to live on her own, didn’t you?”

“Well... yes, but...”

“Then there isn’t anything to worry about.” Someone knocked on the door to the room. He went over to open the door, seeing that the same maid from before was there.

“We have visitors, your Lordship.”

“Keep them in the main room,” he grumbled. “And keep that ‘Lord’ bull to yourself.” The statue turned and walked down the hallway again and he stayed at the door. “I’m going to go see who it is. You’ve got to make those things more human. They freak me out.” He slowly closed the door behind him as he left to go in the direction the statue went.

“No, this is important,” Lucelle’s voice echoed in the foyer of the mansion. “We have to see her now.”

“It was asked in the Lady’s good graces that you stay here, madam.” The statue had no emotion to her voice, but it was distinctly female. She sounded nearly the same as three others nearby.

“Get me someone real and not some metal junk, please,” she said.

“Watch what you say about the Lady’s work, wench,” the man’s voice sounded from the top of the staircase. “I told her to keep you here because the Lady is busy.”

Lucelle looked up at him. “And who are you? I don’t remember Elektra having armed bodyguards.”

“Why, you dirty little-” His voice was cut off nearly immediately. He shook his head, rubbed his eyes, then squinted past Lucelle. Behind her, Emily had stepped out from the side of the entrance. “Is that...?” He began a descent down the stairs.

“Oh, now you understand. Ugh, metal workers and clueless punching bags...” Lucelle’s voice trailed off as she realized it was pointless.

The man had stopped at the end of the stairs watching Emily. “My dear Lady, please, come with me.” His voice changed in a heartbeat and he now stood straight up as opposed to his slightly hunched over posture a moment ago.

“We will go to her alone,” Lucelle persisted, still showing off an angry tone. “I remember the way. Come on, Emily.” The man stood off to the side as the two of them briskly walked past and up the stairs, then went to follow behind them. Emily watched the maids, sporting fake skin of all colors you would find in various races across Mercelon. Their clothes were all the same, that being thin dresses with black, gold-trimmed corsets. Their faces almost all looked to be the same shape, which made them all out to be very beautiful. Despite their ethereal appearance, their bodies were harder than iron and would not feel as soft as they looked.

Lucelle stopped at the door to Elektra’s room. She turned to Emily, “Will you stay out here a moment, please?” She nodded, then Lucelle went to slowly enter the room. Elektra was in the same position as before but now with a redder face and an empty glass at her feet. She looked up at the door, then stood up. Lucelle dropped to one knee and looked straight down.

“Please, stand,” Elektra said softly. She stood back up, brushing off her robes, and Elektra continued, “I was... told by letter there was news. Good... and bad.” Her voice sounded confident but quiet.

“Yes, my Lady. The bad news is that there have been developments with Akan’s plans. He is going to try and summon a Great One.”

Elektra dropped to the couch and put a hand to her head. “Oh, thank goodness that’s what it was. I thought something bad happened...”

Lucelle nodded, then continued, “The good news...” She looked back at the door. “You can come out now.”

At the doorway, Elektra saw what appeared to be a younger version of herself peer around the threshold. She stood again, feeling tears coming back to her eyes. Emily’s face lit up and in a fraction of a second, she used magic to blink herself in front of Elektra before going to hug her. “Mother!” She called out joyfully.

Elektra took a few paces back, put off from the instant hug, then wrapped her arms around Emily before beginning to sob again. “I thought I wouldn’t see you for a long time. They told me you weren’t in the Panther and I didn’t know what to do,” she cried.

“I couldn’t believe it when I heard you were still around, Mother. They told me you passed...” Emily had begun to cry as well, letting herself be held up in Elektra’s arms.

Elektra dropped down against the wall with Emily in her arms. She held her head close to her chest. “They lied, Emily. Finally, we can be together and be on our own.” The two of them quieted down and all Lucelle heard from her position against the wall next to the door was their soft whimpering. She straightened herself out and went to leave the room, shutting the door slowly.

“So, who are you?” Lucelle’s voice took a 180-degree flip as she spoke to the man who was watching with her just a moment before. He backed off in the hall a few steps and then returned to his previous, cool self. “You’ve got to have a name and reason, right?” She persisted.

“Lergen, but call me Nagin. And my reason is to keep her safe. Those damned metal things can’t even get a food order right, so I don’t trust them with her life.”

“Tell me about it. Worst decision Emily’s grandmother ever made.”

“Been around that long?”

“Longer,” she brushed her hair back from her right side, revealing her long, pointed ears. “A few hundred years. The name is Lucelle, by the way. You can call me Lucy, if that suits you better.”

“Sounds good to me, Lucy. What is your reason, then?”

“Same, but different. I prevent the trouble from getting here... if possible. It seems like trouble is going to find us soon.”

“So I heard. Akan is willing to summon a demon?”

“If he has the power, I don’t see why not. He’s crazy.”

“It’s not like he is bringing up some minion. He is trying to summon Isyae Domni, an alpha demon.”

Nagin dipped his head. “An alpha demon? Psh, doubt it.”

Lucelle crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. “This isn’t any joke, you know. It’s coming and it’s going to be bad.”

“I’m not too worried.”

“You’re not worried because you’re scared, and you don’t want to admit that.”

He cooly waved it off and turned his back on her. “Whatever you say, Luce. I’ll be around if she asks.” He walked off, moving his hands to the hilts of his swords in a natural resting position. Lucelle watched him go off, then looked down. It’s a big deal, she thought to herself. A really big deal.

The door to the bedroom clicked open and Lucelle peered over to see Elektra. Her cheeks and nose were both still red. “Emi’s going to sleep for a while,” she said contentedly. She went over and wrapped her arms around the surprised Lucelle. “Thank you so, so much.”

“Er, well, she kind of found us...” She kept her arms back a bit. “But you’re welcome, my Lady.”

“I thought she was gone, you know. You have done something that I can’t repay,” Elektra whispered quietly. Her arms tightened for a moment before she let go. She wiped fresh tears from her eyes and then interlocked her fingers at her lap. “So... let’s go talk.” She led the way from there down the hall and to the left. In the next room they entered, there was a large table and a few comfortable-looking chairs.

Lucelle stopped. “Oh, my Lady...” She looked behind her, then back at Elektra. “There’s someone you need to see. We have a captured Tracker who works for Akan.”

Elektra turned and tilted her head. “Oh really? Well, I guess I do get to have some fun today.”