The day passed slowly, and I was exhausted. We looked through countless stores, but I found nothing I wanted. The only thing that piqued my interest were books, but the Countess told me that I should visit the library with Jahi instead of potentially buying a book that we already owned. Grumbling at that, I let her take me to more stores, some meant for young children, others hand carved trinkets, and so on. I found them interesting, but not something I would buy. Thankfully the Countess got tired, and took us to a small food stall that was selling meat skewers. My mouth watered at the scent of seasoned meat, and my tail started swaying.
The Countess chuckled before buying a couple. She handed me one and I started devouring it, not caring that it was scalding hot. I was smiling as I ate, and the Countess laughed again, poking my cheek that was puffed out.
"You look just like Julie back at the Academy. She used to stuff her face like this too."
Still chewing, I turned towards the Countess. Trying to chew the tender meat enough to swallow so I could ask my question, she stared at me in amusement, waiting. Finally swallowing, I asked "What was the Academy like? How did you and mother meet?"
She was walking slowly, mulling over how to best answer my question. "Well, the Academy is the Royal Academy, meant for Nobility, Royalty, and talented commoners. You learn how to perfect your skills there. I learned how to better control my magic, while Chordeva mastered her sword skills and channel her magic correctly. Your mother was... well, she wasn't standard Nobility; she was the youngest daughter of the Zara Tribe. They lived on a small piece of land above March Asmodia for centuries, and were renowned warriors. She followed her mother's footsteps, showing enough talent to get into the Academy and used the time there as best she could. She was in a class with Chordeva and I, and we needed one more person to form our group for an assignment. Chordeva and I weren't well liked, due to the fact we were not only talented, but also because we could give a rats ass about following noble decorum. Your mother was disliked due to her talent and her heritage. So, we snatched her into our group, and then slowly started to get closer."
I nodded, before asking "Then... why is mother here, tied to you and the Marquess, and not with the Zara tribe?"
The Countess grimaced, before turning away. "That is something your mother will have to tell you. It's not my story to tell."
Frowning, I sighed before leaning into the Countess. Having finished my skewers, I was feeling tired. It had been a few hours, and by the sun I could guess that it was well past noon. My eyes drooping, I started dozing off. The Countess kept walking, taking her time, browsing all the stalls along the road.
Sometimes I would wake up, just to see that we were still in the town. When I realized that, I would nuzzle closer to the Countess, falling back asleep.
Waking up again, I noticed that we were in an alleyway, and that there were dozens of men surrounding us, wielding swords and knives. Seeing this I jolted awake, looking towards the Countess. Her usual easy going smile was gone, and her warm eyes had become cold. She looked around, narrowing her eyes as she saw the men slowly drawing closer. I could hear them muttering to one another.
"-et she feels tight-"
"-ink the girl will sell?"
"-n't wait to bed these two!"
Shaking, I noticed that quite a few of the men's eyes were gleaming with lust, licking there lips as they dragged their palpable gaze over our bodies. I clung tighter to the Countess, who looked down at me, smiling slightly.
"Now, now Kat. It's alright. These are just pests. Do you know what we do to pests?"
Frightened by the situation, and even more so by the glacial tone of the Countess, I shook my head.
Her smile widened, sending a fresh shiver down my spine.
"Why, we slowly, carefully, rip them apart. We fry them from the inside out. We kill them as painfully as possible. After all, pests can be scared when shown the violent death of their kin."
Laughing, the men started jeering at the Countess.
"Kill us? No lady, you are going to be our personal breeding sow!"
"Yea, you and the girl there will be passed around for our amusement!"
I could smell something sickly sweet, reminiscent of the air before a large storm. Recognizing it as ozone, I noticed that the Countess' hair was slowly rising up into the air, and small flickers of lightning were appearing around her.
"Tell me, who sent you? I'll make it less painful that way."
Laughing, one of the men stepped forward, a sneer on his face. "Why, Count Flori offered us a king's ransom to bring you to him. Apparently he wants to have a taste of-"
Before the man could finish, much to my horror, a bright flash blinded everyone in the alley. As soon as everyone could see again, they watched as the man slowly slumped to the ground, half his chest missing, his internal organs spilling out. The smell of charred flesh and burnt hair mixed with the sweet scent of ozone, and the silence was almost palpable.
"So you're telling me, that fat sack of shit was the the one to send you all? The same man who acts important, but wasn't aware that his wife has been shagging his son? The same man who flunked out of the academy because he couldn't perform the most basic spells? HAHAHA~"
Laughing hysterically, the Countess looked around, noting the shocked and scared faces of the men.
"Have you all been living under a rock? Or are you just lacking anything in your head? You wish to capture, ****, and kill me? ME? The Saintess of Lightning? The Empress' Left Hand?"
Shaking from the laughter, the air around her became heavy, more and more sparks forming. Gently placing me on the ground, she traced a rune in the air, too fast for me to follow. When she finished, she reached into the rune, pulling out a long blade made from lightning. Tilting her head, she stood still, before suddenly disappearing.
The next thing I heard was screams. Limbs fell to the floor, heads rolled. Men collapsed, large portions of their chests missing. Some tried to run, only to be struck by lightning. Sometimes the men weren't pierced by her blade, but instead her hand. She would grab their hearts, holding it in front of them before squashing it like a tomato.
Seeing blood spray, body parts fly, and men dying... I fell to my knees, grabbing my head, trying to cover my ears and tune out the screams. Yet I could still hear them. Feeling something wet cover my arm, I looked at it, even when my brain was screaming for me to ignore it. Seeing the crimson liquid stick to my skin, smelling the metallic tang of iron, my vision blurred. I wasn't even aware that the alley was silent except for the cracking of electricity, and unaware that a shadow had fell over me.
A hand grabbed my arm, causing me to look up and pull away. However, the Countess had a firm grip on my arm. Her face was covered in blood, and her eyes were cold. She raised her other hand to my face, gently cupping my cheek.
"I apologize, however it was quite good this happened now. This way, you can understand something. This is what Jahi will eventually become. This is who you have to support. A killer. Someone who bathes in blood. If you can't stand the smell, the sight... then you will not be able to support her. You will not be able to stand next to her. You have a few more years to get used to it. Now come, we have to go home."
Saying so, her eyes went back to their usual warmth, while she smiled at me. Shivering, I found this much worse than the cold and brutal gaze from earlier. She scooped me into her arms, before she flickered. I didn't even notice that our surroundings were zipping by, much like when I rode on trains in my previous life.
The entire journey, I was shaking, feeling my stomach roll at the stench of blood clinging to me.
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If I had chosen differently...If I had realized quicker...
Can I really live like this?
Can I look at the Countess, the Marquess the same?
Will I...
Will I be able to look at Jahi the same?
It may have only been a few days, but for some reason... it feels like these people have been with me forever...
Why can I not fathom a life without them?
What has happened to me?
As my mind kept going to darker and darker places, I realized something.
After the initial shock...
I no longer care.
Why should I? They were going to do something awful to me. To the Countess. Why should their lives matter? They chose to lead that life. They accepted the request to ruin someone's life.
Why should I care that they were killed?
The Marquess, the Countess, my Mother...
Jahi...
They are all that matter.
Nothing else.
I will do what I can to make their lives better, even if its just the role of a pitiful servant.
Realizing this, I stopped shaking. The iron smell of blood no longer bothered me. I snuggled closer to the Countess.
I decided.
I will do what I can, when I can, all I can, for these people.
For my family.
---
So, here we are. This is what makes the family 'Evil'. They care very little for life, and are brutal. Jahi will have extra... spice though. As I was writing, I realized that I quite like the idea of Kat slowly becoming a mini Yandere. I had a fun time creating scenarios where I could make Jahi and Kat go crazy, and realized that it would be quite fun writing about how they would interact if Kat slowly became cold, and Jahi crazy. Might just be my preference for women though *cough*
So, the story will slowly change, but I stand by what I have in the synopsis. Jahi is a villainess, and Kat will be a cold woman to everyone except her family. The story will still focus on the interactions between the two, and I have many ideas I want to eventually get too.
Let me know though, what you think. I don't mind either leaning fully into a crazy MC (Within reason) or making her more normal, just with a small seasoning of crazy. Just comment which you like, cause I can see fun ideas with either side.
Well, I hope you enjoy it though!
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