Far Off Unhappy Things
Chapter Four: Lost Luson
By Renko Doremi Rodenburg
Fisher’s Lane turned out to be in Luson, on the other side of the river. The number corresponded to the house of a highborn merchant, equivalent to a noble in Lusan. This neighborhood was a later addition to the cities and not part of the original ruins, so the architecture was different. Jarringly different. More ephemeral, despite its rather large size and opulent decorations. It was possible only Fleur could tell.
Around her neck she carried a small amulet, a mirror in which she had trapped Amelie to take her along. She rapped on the front door, and waited for it to open.
A young man in a rather modern looking getup- the kind of minimalist, gray nonsense with silly tie one would expect from the servants of Hades- opened the door and invited her in. “Ah, you must be my master’s guest. I’ll bring you to him.”
Fleur wanted to ask how he knew, but she already knew the answer to that. The man seemed jumpy, reacting like a commoner to Fleur’s presence. Maybe he hadn’t worked in high society for very long, and was as of yet not used to strange sights and intimidating guests.
Not that she considered herself intimidating. But the shape of her ears was enough to send some running, cowering in alleys and shadows when she walked by. In a sense the nobles from the Court she despised and the magicians in the Spire she avoided were a relief- at least they weren’t scared of her.
The house was divided in a few large rooms, and every one that Fleur could catch a glimpse of was decorated in a downright disgusting amount of statues, filigree, paintings, vases and cabinets made from rare woods. Even some of the more vulgar nobles from the Court wouldn’t stoop this low in the flaunting of their wealth. The manservant led Fleur to a green couch in the corner of the guest hall, and there she sat and waited for the mysterious person who had invited her to show up.
As she looked around, she noticed a mirror, covered in cloth. “They’ve covered the mirror,” she whispered to the amulet around her neck.
“Smart, I don’t want you near any mirrors either,” the voice of Amelie whispered back.
“But how do they know?”
“How would I know?”
“Sorry,” Fleur replied to the ghost.
A man in similar, spartan clothing as the manservant entered the room followed by a younger girl in black and white dress carrying a silver tray with chalices and a pitcher.
“Hello, good to meet you at last. I knew you’d come,” he said, smiling. “I hope you forgive me for the insolence of not shaking your hand, but I’ve read some rather frightening things about your kind. My name is Allaster Weyer, Lord Merchant of the Riverland Plantations.”
He sat down in a chair across from Fleur, and motioned something. Fleur was confused for a second, but apparently it meant something to the maid, because she put down the chalices and filled them with wine. When she was done, she made a small curtsy, and Fleur noticed.
Her eyes were red- dark, deep red, like a particularly dark ruby, or a deep pool of fresh blood. Two fangs jutted out of her mouth with a slight overbite. As she left the room, Allester laughed.
“I see you looking. You like her? She was very hard to acquire.”
“Vampire,” Fleur spat. “You’re keeping a vampire as a maid.”
“Ah, disdain instead of fear. Lovely. You’re the real deal. I can assure you she’s very well behaved though, a far cry from the usual behavior of such entities,” he said with a big grin on his face.
“How?” Fleur asked.
“She’s a vampire. And eternal being- unaging, and more importantly, unchanging. Once properly primed and trained, they get ‘stuck’ in their ways. It’s why their noble houses in the black forests up north are so rigid and unchanging through centuries, and it’s why she’s extremely valuable. A perfect, eternal servant. I’ll have my sons inherit her with the house- quite the investment.”
There was something wrong with this Allester, Fleur decided. The money must’ve gone to his head. Someone normal wouldn’t come up with the idea to keep an abominable spirit like that in the same house as his sons.
“How do you feed her?” She asked.
“Ah, I have some of the other servants on a schedule to let her feed on them,” he explained.
Fleur shook her head in disapproval.
“Why am I here? You intend to offer to hire me as another eccentric servant?” She tried to sound tough while she said it, but she couldn’t help but anxiously fidget with the amulet around her neck.
“Of course not,” Allaster laughed. “Though I do admit, that has some charm to it. But no. I’ve heard some rumors about you, and I think it would make more sense for us to be partners.”
“A proposal of courtship,” Fleur said incredulously. Pangs of pain shot through her heart.
“What? Huh?” The man stuttered, then quickly recovered. “Ah, haha, no, Autumn no. I meant a business partner, or a partner in crime, if you would rather call it that.”
“Oh,” Fleur said, relieved.
“I have a little tavern just outside town. Strange folk gather there, and I need someone to run it. Someone with a mind for the strange, eyes that see things others hardly do. In return for some services, I’ll let you be the proprietor.”
“In return for some services, you’re offering me a job?” Fleur asked.
“Of course. That’s what you want, not? A normal-girl job away from court intrigue, away from the tower full of sociopath magicians. I’d offer you a more conventional payment, but I doubt you can be charmed with florins or gold, if you haven’t gotten more than enough of those to begin with.”
“Ah,” Fleur said, starting to get somewhat lost in thought.
“In return, I’ll occasionally have you retrieve some things for me. Trinkets, really. Every now and then.”
“Retrieve? What do you mean? I am no courier,” she replied.
“You can, as I’ve heard, enter mirrors the same way men can enter doors. It won’t be hard for you to take some paperwork or some small artifacts that way,” Allester said.
“That’s demeaning,” Fleur said, a bit offended.
“It’s a way to get what you want. Now, I’ve heard you nobles have to attend some communion every single day. I’m offering you a small tavern just outside the walls, with your own room, and good personnel. Every day after communion, you can head straight there and live out the rest of the day as Fleur, Hostess of Adventurers, instead of Fleur the dreaded Noble-Witch. That’s what I’m offering.”
“That’s-” she began, but Allestar interrupted her.
“A lot to think about. Today, after communion, I’ll have Maxwell take you there so you can look around. You can meet Akela, the tavernkeep who will be working for you, and see if the whole ordeal charms you. If you still don’t want it by then, I’ll admit defeat and you’ll never hear from me again,” Allestar said.
“Maxwell?” She asked, perplexed.
“Me,” someone on the couch next to her said. Someone almost not there, yet as good as imperceptibly there. “Nice to see you again, Knives.”
“Maxwell, mind your manners,” Allestar said sternly.
“You,” Fleur cursed. “I remember you.”
“I’m charmed,” the hard-to-define person replied. “I’ll find you after Ceremony, and I’ll show you to House Charis, the tavern.”
“Beautiful,” Allestar said. “I won’t take any more of your time. Pleasure meeting you. Maxwell, can you show her out?”
“Sure,” a voice came from nowhere in particular. Suddenly, a young man- a boy, really, appeared in a beige cloak. Ragged brown hair and eyes so pale they might as well be gray. He smiled at Fleur, an innocent, wide eyed smile that almost made her forget how she felt about him.
“Come, I’ll walk with you. It would be uncouth to let a lady walk alone.”
She fidgeted with the amulet that held Amelie a bit, but yanked her hand away from it when that seemed to make Maxwell grin, almost as in response to her.
“Alright,” she said.
The hard-to-notice boy, now known as Maxwell, showed her the door and made a small bow as he wished her well. On the horizon, the sun was just crawling over the mountains.
She made her way back to one of the massive, stone arch-bridges connecting Luson to Lusan, and looked out over the grand river Lus for a while as the sun slowly crawled further up. Here, too, the city was entirely overgrown. Plants seemed to grow anywhere but the hanging gardens these days. It was a beautiful, and by now nostalgic sight.
“Hey,” she muttered while she was leaning on the broad, stone handrail of the bridge.
“Hm?” Amelie asked from within the amulet.
“How long has it been since I came to the twin cities looking for something resembling a life?” Fleur asked, somber.
“I don’t know. A while.”
“Yeah,” Fleur said.
“Is something up?” Amelie asked her.
“I feel lost.”
“Why?”
“I thought abandoning Eden, like Hyacinth, Violet and the others, would be a way to start something new.”
“Fleur,” Amelie said, “You live in the Lands Lost. Only an endless mire of stagnation, soft rain, pumpkin-themed everything and the haunting of dead children.”
Fleur stayed quiet.
“That’s me, dead children. You should play with me more often. I have feelings, you know,” Amelie said.
“Playing with you is fun and games until it’s not and I walk out of that little study trailing pink blood everywhere,” Fleur answered, only somewhat joking.
“Thing is, I’m used to making do with what I have. A small study to live in and a dear friend who sometimes stops moping for long enough to read a book with me,” Amelie said.
“I miss Richard.”
Amelie sighed. “He’s been dead for what, less than a week?”
Tears started to well up in Fleur’s eyes.
“I have to start over again. Again! I can’t even face his parents. It can’t be long before the hushed gossiping in the Court starts. Young noble got too close to the knife-eared freak and vanished. They’ll probably think I ate him or something.”
Amelie stayed quiet.
“I think I’ll accept this Mr. Weyer his offer. Perhaps leaving the Spire behind and working in that tavern will be good for me.”
“No!” Amelie yelped. “I’ll have to go to sleep alone every night and you already leave me alone too often and nobody will come into the study because they’re scared and who will read me books and who will make drawings with me and who else can just get up and walk it off when I can’t help it and I get hungry and-” Amelie choked on her own tirade and started quietly crying from inside the mirror.
“I’ll be taking you with me, if you want to,” Fleur said.
“Oh,” Amelie said, then was quiet for a moment to collect herself. “That’s scary. I’m anchored to the study I died in, if you take me away from there you’ll have to interact with me a tremendous amount or I’ll just slowly fade away when you stop looking at me.”
“Hrmph,” Fleur grunted. “Hyacinth is not the only one who can mess with the dead. I’ll anchor you to myself. If you’re lucky my blood will provide you with so much energy that you’ll be able to manifest in corporeal form.”
“For real,” Amelie said, breathless. Fleur wondered how a spirit-reduced-to-a-reflection could run out of breath, but it communicated the meaning well enough.
“For real,” Fleur said. “If we visit that tavern and decide we want to live there, I’ll go get ritual supplies right away. Now I think I better bring you back to your study, because I’m not taking you to Ceremony.”
“Alright,” said Amelie.
Ceremony was unimpressive and boring. It usually was, and when it wasn’t, then it was terrifying. All around the city mercenary outfits geared up to march on the lands of the Sun, against the Princess of Summer. Fleur had picked a seat all the way to the back of the throne room, as far away from potential instigators of Court drama as could be. Alas, a young woman dressed in black but covered in metal trinkets came in late, and picked a seat right next to Fleur.
“Fleur,” she said as she sat down.
“Be quiet, Prince Autumn is flogging a dissenter,” Fleur replied.
The woman was covered in strange implements. A silver brooch held her black dress together, and a rather large mirror hung around her neck. She carried several small weapons and farming implements, as well as a large oil lantern attached to a chain belt. Myriads of little silver icons and sigils were attached to her dress, making a tinkling sound whenever she moved. The emissary of Hades, Fleur realized.
The woman shook her head. On the stage, the dissenter- a man who had instigated a small slave uprising- was being flayed alive by the Prince. He used a nine-tailed whip still wet with the blood and intestinal fluids from the person it was made out of to lash away every bit of skin on the man’s body, bit by bit, inch by inch. Autumn had decreed silence, so most members of the Court sat exasperated, trying their best to hold their excited cries to themselves. Conversely, the man on the stage did his utmost best to scream, but the Prince willed it not so. Barely ten minutes later he fell dead on the stage, only strips of bloodied skin remaining on his body, hanging from his raw flesh as morbid ribbons, and the crowd burst into cheers and laughter.
“My name is Morana. You’re Fleur.”
“What do you want,” Fleur said. Her voice almost broke.
“I want to warn you,” Morana said.
“I’m not interested,” she replied.
“A cancer is growing in your world,” Morana said sternly. “Things incomprehensible to us are drawing plans against us.”
“Oh no,” Fleur replied. “Terrible.”
“I need allies to fight it,” Morana continued. “Or we’ll both live to see the end of all things.”
“I’ll welcome it with open arms,” Fleur said as she stood up and readied herself to leave. Autumn was done with his show, and the Court was mingling and chatting like they always did.
“Arrogant bitch,” Morana said, enough vitriol in her voice it almost dripped from her pale lips to form a pool on the ground.
“Leave me alone,” Fleur said. “Go visit my sisters instead. There is nothing I have to say to you. There is nothing I want to do with you.”
“Oh,” Morana replied, put off by Fleur’s stance to her. “But-”
“No,” Fleur said loudly, her voice cracking. “Everyone- everyone wants something but I don’t care.”
She left. She left the throne room, swerving out of the way of two nobles who tried to catch her attention, and made her way out the palace. It was noon, and a bright spot above the perpetually overcast sky betrayed the presence of the sun.
A young man in the rugged clothes of common folk approached her. Ragged brown hair and gray eyes, and a playful, almost childish gait. It took a while for Fleur to realize who it was.
“Hey,” Maxwell said. “You ready?”
“You’re not invisible.”
“I’m never invisible. I’m hard to notice with my cloak on,” Maxwell replied to her. “Come, I’ll take you to House Charis. Akela is waiting for us.”
“Who is Akela?” Fleur asked as she followed Maxwell through the winding streets of the city, up and down stone-hewn staircases and underneath hanging gardens.
“The barmaid, you’ll like her,” he said.
“Ah.”
As they crossed one of the great bridges, Maxwell spread his arms and spinned around while walking a few times, graceful like a practiced ballerina.
“Don’t you love this place?” He asked Fleur.
“Hm,” she said.
“I do,” he said. “It’s amazing. The twin cities are so beautiful. There’s no place on Earth I’d rather live.”
“That’s a weird expression,” Fleur said.
“Hm? Oh, haha,” Maxwell laughed. “I meant no place in the Lands Lost.”
“I understood that,” Fleur replied.
Maxwell laughed as he made his way through the city with Fleur in pursuit. His movement was energetic, almost like dancing. Time would steal this naive happiness from him, Fleur promised herself.
“Almost there. Akela is a she-wolf, but you’re not allowed to tell anyone, okay?” Maxwell said.
“A wolf?” Fleur asked. “How does that work?”
“Oh, she looks just like us. Don’t worry about it. She’s nice. She’s taken care of me for a long time now.”
“I see. Maxwell? Can I ask something?”
“Sure,” he replied.
“Do you know who I am?”
“Fleur,” he said, smiling. “The elf girl. But I guess I don’t know you, not really. If that was what you were really asking.”
“What’s an elf?” Fleur had to ask.
Maxwell shook his head. “Knives,” he said as he pointed to his ears. “ Elf girl, that’s what Master Allester calls you.”
“Don’t call me knives, it’s rude,” she said.
“It’s cute,” he said.
They passed one of the titanic gates, the great arches that separated the Twin Cities from the immeasurably large Forest of Forever Fall. A road, unpaved but clearly defined by years of travel, led slightly downhill and into the woods. Below, in the distance, the river Lus glittered.
“House Charis is close by, it’s a last stop for travelers both in and out of the cities,” Maxwell explained as he and Fleur wandered into the forest.
It was.
It was a small, wooden lodge. A cottage in the forest, two stories high and quite large. Behind it flowed the river Lus, gently onwards into Fall. A few small windows, dimmed with age, gave it a homely feel. Wooden fences once separated forest from garden, but they had almost fully fallen into disrepair, and the forest and garden had mingled into one.
“Come,” Maxwell said as he walked up to the wooden door. It was covered in moss, but it wasn’t rotten. It was old and weathered, but it hadn’t decayed. “I’ll introduce you to Akela.”
The door wasn’t locked. Of course- why would it be?
Inside, it was warm. Out in the Lands Lost, it was always cold. Always a late September wind, despite the last September having passed decades ago. Always a late September wind, heralding a far colder season that would never come.
But in the tavern, an older woman with graying hairs and pale blue eyes kept a fire stoked.
“Hey dear, Maxwell told me you would be coming along. Sit down somewhere comfy, I’ll bring you some hot chocolate,” the woman said when Fleur came in. Akela, Fleur presumed.
“Hey,” Fleur said, uncertain. “I’m Fleur. What’s hot chocolate?”
“Oh,” she chuckled. “You’ll like it. Can’t get it anywhere else.”
“Marion has hot chocolate,” Maxwell said.
Akela shook her head and made a ‘tsk tsk’ sound.
“Come, Fleur, let’s sit,” ever-cheerful Maxwell said.
In a corner of the tavern, sitting on an old and stale-smelling wooden bench near old and faded glass, Fleur decided to once again start over.
Note from the Demiurge:
It’s been quite a ride so far, hasn’t it? Chapter four took me much longer to write than I anticipated, but finally- here it is.
If you like my writing, I highly encourage you to check out the writings of my friend Kriemhild over here:
https://www.scribblehub.com/series/528799/empty–homework-session/
Far Off Unhappy Things would not exist without them.
I’ve been away from home – and my dearly beloved & exceedingly overpriced mechanical keyboard – for a few days now, so I haven’t had much of a chance to read FOUT, let alone write about it. But I’m back home now and by title alone I am extremely excited for this chapter. Luson was a part of the Lands Lost that I was really interested in from the offset, so it’s nice to see it get covered so soon. I’ve also heard that chapter 5 is very good, so I’m looking forward to that too. The future is exciting!
A few paragraphs in and I’m already wondering about Fleur again. I imagine she must be magically inclined in some way or another if she’s A) trapped Amelie in a mirror for companionship and B) able to sense some seemingly imperceptible property of the newer architecture. Though that does make me question if the latter is just a keen eye – since she wasn’t really able to make out the “invisible man” who was headhunting her in chapter 2. I desperately want to know where she fits in, because everything about her seems slightly off. She seems to crave some kind of normalcy – one that’s unavailable to her for reasons unknown – and is somehow involved with the nobility, royalty or ruling class in general. And she’s somehow involved with whatever fighting is going on between the champions and Clementine’s sisters? I think at this point it’s unlikely that she’s royalty. If she were, I feel like she’d have some more direct support from the rest of the nobility, and that we would’ve seen that in part. To me it feels more likely that she’s some unfortunate pawn of the nobility, and that’s potentially where her nickname comes from? I can totally imagine a title of “Autumn’s knives” (or similar) just being shortened to “knives”. But if it were a title, I figure she’d be aware of it, and she doesn’t seem to know where the nickname comes from?
… and Fleur has ears that aren’t normal. I assume that means they’re pointed and that she is one of Clementine’s sisters – like I thought! – and that’s why she’s involved in all of this. I do think the stereotyping of the Hades servants’ attire is a cute touch too, since we haven’t heard much else about them (or Hades) so far.
I love the green couch – such a weirdly noble color for furnishings – and the description of the house in general. “A vulgar level of opulence” is a great way to talk about it. However all of my interest in the house immediately disappears at the mention of the mirror covered in cloth, and Amelie’s response. What is up with the mirrors? Do Clementine’s sisters – or their kind in general? – have some innate mirror-related ability? Fleur already stepped through a couple, so I assume they must be usable as transport, but she also stuck Amelie inside of one, so they must be useful in other ways too. Is Amelie inside some sort of mirror realm, then? Is that what the mirrors do – do they let Fleur enter/exit some sort of mirror realm, using mirrors themselves as the doors? I don’t know! I am also slightly frightened by the mysterious person knowing to cover the mirror in the first place. That’s not a good sign, especially when it’s been established that she can travel through them. Is this some sort of way to prevent her from escaping..? Poor Fleur. I really hope they don’t try to hurt her.
I am also extremely happy to see a vampire here. I’m not sure about her being a maid – Fleur seems to take offense with that as well! – but I love that she has blood-tinted eyes. Very fitting for a vampire. I have some misgivings about Allaster too. Somebody being named Allaster is never, ever a good sign. Nothing good can precede or follow a person named Allaster. He just seems weird. He is clearly a noble, to be fair, but… “she was hard to acquire” in reference to the maid seems really gross. Very objectifying, almost suggesting he would’ve purchased her. Is that something you can do? I thought he was weird and he immediately opened his mouth to be vampire-racist, so I think I was probably onto something. Calling Fleur the “real deal” too? I don’t like him at all.
Vampire racism aside, the way Allaster describes vampires here is cool. It’s nice to see vampires in FOUT fleshed out a bit more beyond “they live forever” – describing them as unchanging and “getting stuck in their ways” is really interesting. Using this to segue into describing the conservative ways of the vampire houses “up north” is really cool from a writing perspective; it feels like a very natural way to deepen the reader’s understanding of the world without seeming particularly overbearing.
Fleur also comes to the conclusion that something is wrong with Allaster here, but not for the same reasons as me. At least she’s concluded that he’s slightly batshit insane though. I’m curious why vampires are seen as “abominable spirits” – there’s the obvious blood-sucking thing, but that doesn’t feel like reason enough for such disdain. Is something about the way vampires are birthed considered abominable, then? That would make more sense to me, but I don’t know at this point. But nevermind all of that. Allaster just has a bunch of servants on feeding schedule for the fucking vampire? What? It doesn’t really shock me considering the way he’s acted so far, but the fact he explains this so calmly is just… bizarre. He is weird.
Fleur interpreting Allaster’s “proposal” as the other kind of proposal is funny to me, if also extremely sad. Is she somehow part of the nobility then, since she seems to expect to be courted for the sake of bargaining? I was doubting her place as royalty, but… I’m not so certain at this point. Fleur is definitely in some sort of bizarre situation though, that’s for sure. If she has pointy ears and sellswords aren’t trying to kill her, maybe she’s somehow endorsed by Lusan, or fighting “for” them in whatever is going on? I really don’t know.
Or well, I said I didn’t know, but my wonderings were answered literally a paragraph later, so nevermind that. Fleur is a noble and a witch. Are all of Clementine’s sisters witches then? I suppose it would make sense, considering what we’ve seen Hyacinth do in chapter 1, but it still doesn’t clear up much about their origin. And Fleur’s ability to waltz through mirrors gets confirmed here too! Not that it needed much confirmation, but it’s nice to have it mentioned explicitly. Fleur being offended by the busywork of playing courier is funny too. Maybe she’s a little more stuck-up than I realized?
Allastar’s offer here seems worrying. I knew nothing good could come from this and, as of right now, I am not exactly surprised that he wants her to be doing what seems like stealing. And he just interrupts Fleur when she tries to complain! He is weird and I do not like him and there is no way this will be good for Fleur. I feel like her pursuit of normalcy is going to wind up with her being used or exploited in some way or another. Allaster definitely doesn’t seem like the type who’s above that. His promise of “admitting defeat” also seems slightly too good to be true. I do not trust it. I do not trust him, either. And the invisible man has a name! Maxwell. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that it feels so generic. It’s fitting for him and his habit of blending into nothingness. The same habit he’s probably been indulging the entire time, sitting next to Fleur on the couch without her knowing! Saying that he’s “charmed” that Fleur remembers him also feels a bit gross – fitting for a creep, but that doesn’t make it less weird. I am, however, extremely surprised that he’s described as looking so young! If this isn’t some “eternal youth” thing, I guess adolescence would explain why he’s so weird and why his smile seems innocent. Or maybe the smile is just a play! The pale eyes do make me wonder if he’s somehow non-human – but maybe it’s just a magical thing, considering his very “invisible” nature? It would fit him, I guess – like his eyes are so pale they’re invisible, or something. And the small bow Maxwell gives Fleur on the way out makes me feel very conflicted feelings. Maybe he is just a strange kid.
And we finally hear the name for the river between the two cities! Lus. I wonder if the “A” and “O” refer to the positions of the two cities relative to the river? “A” for adjacent, and “O” for opposite? Maybe that’s too nerdy a thought though, and the cities are just called what they are for no particular reason. Rivers and names aside, there’s a ton to unpack here. For a start, I love the descriptions of the setting; the sun rising over both the stone arches and the overgrowth is such a lovely mental image. The plants growing everywhere except the hanging gardens really contributes too, making the overgrowth feel just a bit more smothering; it’s a nice touch! And all of that is before getting into the dialogue between Fleur and Amelie. For one, Fleur is well aware of Hyacinth – as well as somebody named Violet, who I imagine is another one of Clementine’s sisters. And they all abandoned Eden, looking for some sort of new start? Based on the wording, it’s pretty ambiguous whether Eden is a place or a person, and Eden being a person is definitely fitting for FOUT, I think. If Eden were a person, I’d assume they would’ve created Clementine and all of her sisters? Since they seem almost artificial? Amelie’s follow-up makes things more ambiguous (was Eden in the lands lost?) but I imagine this will probably be covered again at some point. And again it’s mentioned that Amelie is hurting Fleur? How does a ghost even draw blood? I guess I’ll find out at some point, but I don’t want to have to wait. I’m hungry to have my questions answered! I want to know! This little segment of dialogue does finally explain Fleur’s nickname too – describing herself as the “knife-eared freak” makes it pretty obvious. It also leaves zero room for doubt that she’s one of Clementine’s sisters. It’s nice to see some of Fleur’s feelings about her place in the world explored here too, and it deepens her character a bit I think. Stubborn and chasing normalcy, but not stubborn enough to have unwavering determination or forego anxiety.
Amelie is also a BPD icon, I think. The way she trails off and starts crying when Fleur mentions accepting that offer really hurts. I feel bad for her. Her little tirade – I love that it’s described as a tirade – does at least clarify why she hurts Fleur. For food. I guess I’m not surprised? I wonder if this means she’s some sort of vampire ghost, or if this is just what ghosts do. I still don’t exactly get how they’d draw blood though.
The next little bit of dialogue also casually drops a lot of information. Hyacinth messing with the dead suddenly makes a lot of sense. And I am slightly certain this is why Reinhild needs the runes, and why she’s so traumatized – Hyacinth killed her, didn’t she? Or maybe Reinhild died another way, and her death was the traumatizing part. Regardless of cause, I suppose it would make Reinhild some sort of zombie-ish thing, which explains the cannibalism, but doesn’t really explain the “wooden” skin she was described as having. Was Reinhild somehow reanimated in a different body? Or maybe she was simply never human. It also explains some of Hyacinth’s wording choices. “I don’t want to bury you” instead of “I don’t want you to die”. Because she’s already dead. Maybe being a zombie-ish creature explains her devotion to Hyacinth too? And Amelie died in that study? What the hell happened – is it somehow related to the missing half of that tower? Amelie being breathless at Fleur’s offer is really cute. Seeing her swing from crying to seeming extremely happy further affirms my beliefs in her as a BPD icon. There have been a lot of those in FOUT so far though.
The transition to Ceremony is maybe a little abrupt, but I’m not too fussed. It works well enough, I think? Fleur’s line of “Be quiet, Prince Autumn is flogging a dissenter” is extremely funny to me, even though I know it’s said in sincerity. It just seems so absurd. I am, however, worried about this woman. I am worried about most new characters in FOUT but anybody who knows Fleur’s name and wears strange implements is certainly up to no good.
The description of the flaying is… a lot. Extremely gruesome, and something that further affirms how total Prince Autumn’s power is. Literally willing the man to be silent. This scene is just extremely cruel in general, I think – the crowd bursting into laughter at “morbid ribbons” hanging from the dissenter’s raw flesh is particularly twisted. I wonder if that’s another part of Prince Autumn’s influence? Making the crowd cheer like this?
Anyway, Morana – the name fits her slightly mysterious nature and status as an emissary of Hades, I suppose. Fleur is evidently exceptionally tired of everyone wanting something from her, based on the way this exchange plays out, even though Morana seems genuine in wanting help. Shifting from politeness to vitriol is interesting too – she’s clearly convinced of her cause. I do wonder if the “cancer” that’s mentioned as eating away the world is what’s responsible for the endless autumn, or whether it’s something else. Is it why you can’t go anywhere past the sea?
One small nit as Maxwell and Fleur are heading back to House Charis – “Maxwell spread his arms and spinned around while walking” should probably be “spun around” instead of “spinned around”. His mention of there being “no place on Earth he’d rather live” here makes me wonder more about the Lands Lost – are they some sort of blighted remnant of modern-day earth? Is that why mechanical lamps are a thing? Akela’s name is interesting too. I know that the name “Akula” roughly means “shark”, so I have to wonder if the etymology behind Akela is similar.
I like the name of the Forest of Forever Fall too – it fits well into the “endless autumn” thing, and it’s nice to see the forest that was mentioned way back in chapter 1 given a name. The end of the chapter isn’t far off from here, and there’s not too much more to be said. I do think Fleur not knowing about hot chocolate or elves is very funny though. I guess her circumstances growing up were probably pretty rough – she seems to not have parents or any form of real guardians, after all. Akela seems lovely too! One of the first characters who doesn’t seem intent on murder, apart from (maybe) Maxwell.
In terms of overall opinion… I liked it! It’s nice to see the world deepened some more – this chapter has been especially dense in that regard! Likewise, it’s cool seeing what Fleur’s been up to. Poor girl; I really hope this whole tavern thing ends up being good for her, but I have my doubts about the errand-running she’ll be tasked with. Oh well!