The three who remained conscious in the room sat down hard, exhausted. Gerard stared at the floor, lost in thought. Alicia crossed her legs and stooped down as if to take a nap. Elsa sat bolt upright on her knees, ready to jump at any new threat. She was the first to break the silence. “So, tell me, strange woman…”, she sighed, “If you won’t tell me what you are, can you at least tell me why I feel drawn to you? I feel as though you’re going to be vital to my mission, or I need to protect you for some reason.” Alicia shook her head. “Couldn’t tell you why any of that is happening. To put a long story very short, I’m dead. Or at least… I was dead. The rest, I’d rather not talk about.” Elsa scooted a bit closer to her. “Perhaps when this is all over, the two of us can chat over a fine brew?” Alicia couldn’t help but giggle. “You’re asking me on a date right in front of my boyfriend, while we’re waiting to get information out of a naked witch that may or may not help us to save the nations of the world from destruction?” Elsa let out a small laugh as the absurdity of the situation finally hit her. “I wouldn’t call it a date…”, she said with a flip of her blonde hair, “Call it professional curiosity. I’m a paranormal agent. It’s my job to know about people like you.” “Don’t you mean things like me?”, Alicia said with a self-deprecating smile. Gerard snapped out of his thoughts and walked to Alicia’s side, then sat down behind her and put his arms around her waist. “Don’t talk like that.”, he said gently into her ear, “You’ve never been a ‘thing’, and never will be. Whether you were dead at one point or not.”
Lanaya gave a twitch and a groan, then shot to her feet and began screaming panicked obscenities. “Hey, chill!”, Gerard yelled as he moved slowly toward her. “We won’t attack you again, I promise.” “A-again?!”, she stammered, “Who are you?!” Gerard grew more than a little impatient. “The guy who’s engaged to the girl that just went angel and kicked your ass.”, he sneered, “And if you don’t start talking, I’m gonna be the guy who flattened your face and left a nice imprint of your backside on that wall over there.” Lanaya’s panic only grew. She wailed loudly and incoherently as fat teardrops made their way to the floor. Gerard growled in exaspiration. “Stop playing dumb!”, he bellowed, and gave her a smart punch in the gut. Holding back his vampiric strength the best he could, he managed to lift her off her feet, making her cough up just a bit of blood. She choked on more blood once she was back on the ground, then rose shakily to her feet. “Please,” she sobbed, “I really don’t know anything... “ Her shaky knees gave out, sending her tumbling onto her rear, where she continued to sob and gasp pitifully. “You expect me to believe a thrall has the kind of power you did?!”, Gerard screamed. “That’s bullshit!” He gave her a slight tap with his boot, and she flew backwards. The sobbing stopped momentarily, replaced by stunned silence, then resumed, more loudly than before.
“She’s telling the truth, Gerard.” Alicia put a hand on his shoulder. “Stop brutalizing the poor girl. She’s been through enough.” Gerard shook his head in disbelief. “No way.”, he coughed, “No fuckin’ way. She almost killed all of us, and you want me to just let it go?!” Lanaya slowly got to her feet again, holding onto the wall for support. “I… I almost killed you?”, she stammered in a near-whisper. Gerard threw up his hands and turned away. “I don’t believe this shit!”, he cried out, “An amnesiac witch? A thrall? Some kind of human weapon? What is this chick?” Elsa took her by the hand. “I feel that she may be right. If that’s the case, it’s my duty to see you to safety.” Lanaya grabbed her hand eagerly, then huddled close and clung to Elsa for safety. “Th-thank you…”, she squeaked, “My name is Hannah, by the way.” Gerard, Elsa, and Alicia were all utterly perplexed, but they agreed that this woman was indeed telling the truth. “We know a safe place.”, Gerard said to her awkwardly. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry I roughed you up.” Lanaya nodded. “I… I think it’s OK… I still don’t understand.” She sighed and shook her head. Gerard retrieved his cape from the floor and took a look at the nude woman walking in front of him. By conventional standards, her looks could be called above average, but the breathtaking beauty that had threatened to distract him during their fight was gone now.
The four of them arrived back in the fountain room to find Zack, Mary, and Philemon still gathered. “I knew you would return, Gerard.”, Philemon said warmly. “And this woman… she is not normal.” Philemon eyed her suspiciously up and down for a few seconds, then offered her a bath in the fountain. Zack shot a humph Gerard’s way, while Mary smiled at Gerard and his cohorts. With a snap of Philemon’s fingers, a silken dress appeared on a small stone rack. The dress looked as though somebody had plucked a swatch of the moonlit sky for material. “Oh, right, clothes…”, Hannah said as she climbed out of the fountain after a short, relaxing soak. She donned the dress slowly, examining it as she did so. Gerard’s curiosity had been piqued. “How do you actually feel about being naked in front of others, Hannah?” His question got him a bonk on the head from Alicia, but he persisted. “Would you call yourself an exhibitionist?” She nodded. “Honestly, yes… weird question. Why do you ask?” He told her about the fight, how her clothes had been sliced to ribbons and she declared herself an exhibitionist. “So…”, Hannah said as she finally put her arms into the dress’ sleeves, “Whatever turned me into this ‘Lanaya’ person, it seems I maintained a small part of my personality during the transformation.” Gerard, Alicia, and Elsa exchanged looks, then nodded to Hannah. “Strange,” Mary said curtly, “Very strange. A thrall wouldn’t have that much power or any of their own personality, but usually only a full transition from human to demon would grant that sort of power otherwise. She doesn’t look like any demon I’ve seen.” Zack looked Hannah over, staying silent. Philemon suddenly whistled, and everybody turned toward him with a start. “I’ll bee staying here to watch over Hannah,” he said at last, “so if anybody needs to talk to me or vice versa, use these.” Zack, Mary, Elsa, Gerard, and Alicia all received tiny blue gems, which they were instructed to place inside their ear canals. They did so, then the five set out, together once more, to venture to the heart of the castle.
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