Bambi and the Duke

Heuren who had pleasantly introduced the fair maiden to his superior had suddenly turned confused when he heard her excuse herself to see her run away from there. Seeing the Duke follow her he had trailed behind them to see the fleshy gooey mass which he saw lying on the floor.

He heard Duke Leonard ask Lady Vivian when she had turned to look at him, "That wasn't Sister Isabelle, was she?" to this, the lady shook her head which further confused him.

Being a follower of God, Hueren often visited the church which Sister Isabelle was part of. He had seen and spoke to the white witch sever times which was why he understand why they had doubt on she wasn't Sister Isabelle. Unless...his face snapped to ask the Duke,

"Switcher?" he looked baffled as he asked this.

"Get Lionel here immediately," Leonard ordered his subordinate who stared at the mass of flesh, taking a step back he hurried to fetch the experienced councilman while giving the couple time to talk. With Hueren gone and would return back soon, there wasn't much time to discuss before the other councilmen would come to question, Leonard took a couple of steps forward to look down the floor.

"Is this Sister Isabelle's..." trailed Vivian.

"The switcher impersonated her and shed her persona which the person picked up. What did you see?"

"I..." she tried to gather her thoughts as the whatever images that had come in front of her eyes hadn't been clear enough but she felt herself gulp. As if someone had slapped her across her face and the impact was still ringing through her cheek and mind. A drop of tear slid down her eye as she thought about it.

When Leonard' eyes moved up, concern fell over his face at seeing the single drop of tear that fell down on her cheek, "Vivi?" he stepped closer to her to make sure she was alright. Hearing the footsteps that came to approach them, Vivian wiped the tears. blinking her eyes several times and taking two steps back such that when the men arrived at the little house, there was a good amount of distance between them.

The councilmen's eyes widened in shock to see the disintegrated fluid of body which had its own smell from the dead.

"What happened here?!" asked Lionel looking at Heuren first who had come to call him urgently asking him to follow him and then at Leonard.

"Councilman Lionel, this is a switcher's shredded body after use," hearing this the man with the monocle narrowed his eyes.

"I can see that. Where is Sister Isabelle? Get her here to verify this," before further orders could be given, the man himself looked at the cloth as if he had seen someone wearing it. His narrowed eyes widened again, "There was a switcher among us!" his voice was hard, disappointed that he hadn't realized it until now, "How did you find out?" he asked looking at them, his eyes falling back at Heuren where the human's gaze fell on Vivian.

"You girl," called Lionel, "Do you know what happened?"

Not waiting for Vivian to take the arrow, Leonard stepped in to answer, "We were trying to find Sister Isabelle as Lady Vivian wanted to speak to her."

"I can't believe the switcher was so close yet none of us doubted the person's identity. At this rate, we can trust none here and only rely on proof," as Lionel said this, Vivian remembered what Leonard had said to her before taking up the first exam of the council. He had asked her to trust no one but herself. The pureblooded vampire, Lionel looked frustrated to think that the switcher had slipped through and under their nose while fooling them successfully. Rubbing his temple for some time as if in deep thought he dropped his hand, "Wasn't it reported that the switcher sheds the skin in isolation which was where most of the masses of clumps-" he looked at the ground, "-were found in the forest."

Leonard answered the councilman's question, "It is true. The switchers do shed their skin in isolation and away from the eyes but there has been a recent record that was found that the skin was found behind the tower clock. There must be a time limit for them to adorn the face of a person before they go back to the way they are."

The councilman with monocle sighed, looking at everyone in the room, he said to Sullivan, "This is why we don't bring outsiders to the dead man's land or any other tasks which the council are working on," Vivian knew that he was talking about her as the man came to meet her gaze, "It must have been a wonderful time to have to spend here but it would be best for a lady like yourself to go back home. Let the men handle it from here," with the tone of his voice, Vivian noted that he was one of the men who looked down on females taking part in the job. Her hands clenched together, biting back any remark which would cause a problem.

"I apologize for the inconvenience caused, Lionel," Sullivan bowed his head in apology, "Let me take the lady back home," he smiled, a cunning smile forming on his lips.

"That's alright. Women are easily curious and want to know and think they can solve. Milady, I would ask you to complete and pass the exam. You can then partake in these jobs if you're still eligible," remarked Lionel.

"Let us take our leave," Sullivan bowed at them. Sullivan and Lionel both belonged to the pureblooded vampires but to be a councilman earned a great deal of respect among the creatures.

Hueren looked at Lionel as if he were an enemy who was sending away the woman whom he was yet to be acquainted with. He had never liked Lionel due to his pureblooded pompous attitude. He wanted to object but the boy was a mere human being who had been admitted to the council a year ago due to which he lacked the experience the other had.

But when he heard his senior speak, it was a sign of hope that came to form in his mind.

"If it weren't for the Lady we wouldn't have known that Sister Isabelle's switcher could be found here. I must say we should give her credit for noticing something strange which the rest failed to see," reasoned Leonard who was holding the box which Vivian had picked previously, "Isn't that right, Heuren?" the human nodded his head, agreeing to what his senior said.

"Is that so?" Lionel rubbed his chin which had a small patch of beard. Turning to look at Vivian, he said, "If it is true then maybe the girl with the gloves can stay but Sullivan, I would like you to leave as it's only for the councilmen. The girl is a witness and I will have to interrogate what she has to speak before sending her home."

Sullivan didn't disagree to it. He gave a bow a sharp bow and left them be.

"Datan," hearing the man's name, he went out to make sure that Sullivan was getting on the carriage while also keeping a lookout around the house and the area. Did you converse with the woman before we arrived here?"

"Our words were minimum. She looked surprised when I saw her," Lionel's eyes furrowed at her short answer, it made him wonder if he should send her back home right away as well. People with no use of help was only going to be a burden and a hindrance.

"Of course, she would be. For her to take the appearance of a white witch without much effort, she should have already known that the council would take time to get here before they would survey the lands. She wasn't expecting anyone to be there and it must have come to be more than surprise."

"But," this caught Lionel's attention. Everyone in the room hanging on her words which were going to be uttered.

"But what?" asked the man with a monocle, the eye scrunching in question.

"When I came here to see who it was, I remember seeing her look at the wooden box and when noticed my presence, she placed the box down," before he could ask her what it contained she said, "There's nothing in there. It must have been there but whatever it was, it isn't there anymore."

Lionel dropped the arrogance he previously carried as he tried to get the information on what the human knew. The mass death was not a meager issue that could be solved easily as the councilmen were working on getting the matter handled but death was everywhere. They needed all the clue possible to solve what, why and who was causing it.

"She didn't take it with her?" asked Lionel.

"The person who posed as Sister Isabelle didn't touch it after we entered the room."

"What makes you think there was something in that measly looking box?" Vivian didn't know how to answer it. She couldn't tell what she saw, she couldn't tell the councilman that she was physic with the ability to read memories from objects and people. Though it had been hardly a few hours of time she had spent with the white witch, she had tried to understand and learn to control what she could and shouldn't read.

"Because there are two other things you need to know, councilman Lionel," she took a stance as she turned to look around the room, "Senior Mr. Carmichael and I had already passed through this particular room before the switcher arrived. The last time I saw, there were three bodies in this house."

Leonard then stated, "There is only one now," Vivian nodded her head.

"There were a child and a woman," she confirmed.

Hueren then asked, "Why would a switcher want two bodies? Dead ones are of no use unless they are going to mimic them. Do you think it's the work of the switcher? It's hard to piece to why a switcher would want to kill so many of them."

"It isn't a switcher's job," interveined Leonard, slipping the box of wood in his cloak, "Mass murders have nothing to do with switchers but the black witches. Deaths, when added together, creates energy which is harnessed by them, "Our best guess is that the switcher and the witches are working together. As it would be quite a coincidence for a switcher to pick a white witch's appearance out of everything."

"You said two things. What is the second one?" Lionel reminded her of what she said a few minutes ago. Vivian felt somewhat proud when the experienced man who had previously wanted to send her home due to her lack of knowledge as well as for being a female now was wanting answers from her.

Vivian said, "If you look into the houses. There's nothing but dead bodies and the smell. There are bodies which had been slashed but at the same time, there are bodies which haven't been touched. As if they died out of illness without any assault," she explained it while stepping out of the house. One because she couldn't take the sight or smell of the bodies and the melted body that laid amass. Two because she wanted to show them something that couldn't be seen while standing inside the house, "As Duke Carmichael stated, the switcher might have known about something and there's a possibility that he or she came to retrieve something from here. There are some books that have been recorded with readings which come to overlap with each other to tell how mass murder or the massacre has been tried to achieve superior power for the black witches."

"But anybody can kill anyone. There have been murders taking place everywhere," Hueren put his doubtful thought across them, "They could harness the energy from anywhere."

"Unless what the witch is trying to achieve isn't working. To kill a lot of people without touching will take a lot of effort if it is done by the voodoo magic. There must be something like a web of net to be able to perform such a deed," commented Leonard with a grave expression that adorned his handsome face.

"It's a pattern," Vivian answered him, "One of the old newsletters speaks of how there was a murder being attempted in a house by the black witches who had never entered the house."

"Pattern?" asked Lionel intrigued.

"Here. If you follow the water line, you will come to see this where a circle has been drawn with inlines that intersect each other," Vivian responded back to look down at the ground with the water that ran in the stream. If one didn't look down it might have looked like a normal thing to happen after a rainy day. Also because the stream didn't run at the center but near the edge of the houses. Seeing the confused expression, she went to one corner of the narrow path and picked up the stick. She drew what she knew and had seen, "This is what we are standing at," she pointed one side of the circle star she had drawn, "It's a designed pattern to pull and destruct anything that lies within it. With a few right spells by the black witch and some of the necessary criteria which ask for blood, the moon the witches tried to bring themselves back in power but my guess is they haven't been able to do it. They must be missing a link to finish the spell."

"Hmph," grunted Lionel unhappy with what he heard yet glad to have made the human stay back, "For a woman of your capability I must say I am impressed," complimented the pureblooded councilman, one of his eyes holding on to the monocle like a shield, "Datan. Go find what is this pentagram which Lady Vivian speaks of. Find it in the rusted libraries of the town and the parchment makers."

"Yes, Sir," the councilman obliged.

Seeing that they had covered most of the ground, Heuren asked Lionel, "Would we be required to stay here?" the human councilman had been standing in the corner and listening to the lady's theory in an awestruck face. Most of the women he had met and was attracted to were always delicate and fragile, so was this woman but she showed strength and intelligence which had a charm of its own.

Looking at the dainty woman who looked much relaxed than when Lionel had put her in the spot Hueren decided to propose for everyone to get back to the council or to their home.

"It won't be necessary. The guards must be on their way to pick up the bodies," Lionel replied back and then turned to speak to Vivian, "Thank you for your cooperation, Lady Vivian."

"It was my pleasure," Vivian bowed her head.

Before Hueren could propose to ask Vivian to see her home as she had no ride to go back in as the carriage she had come in was not there, Leonard spoke,

"Councilman Lionel. I will be going to the local first village which has an old store of books. There must be something that can be found there."

"Yes. The three of you," he first said and then corrected himself, "Four," he said including Vivian, "Keep what you have learned today to yourself. I wouldn't like the matter to be leaked."

"Yes, Sir."

"Yes."

"Yes, councilman Lionel," came the unified voice.

"Good. How do you plan to go home," Lionel directed the question to Vivian who was looking at the clear sky.

Hueren was about to propose to take Vivian home when Leonard cut him in, "I will see, Lady Vivian back home," and the human looked at his senior as if his fellow senior had thrown an arrow into his chest by taking away his opportunity to impress the beautiful lady.

When Jan heard the sound of carriage appear from the other side of the mansion where the entrance was, he hurried out of the kitchen so that he could open the front doors of the mansion. He hoped it was Lady Vivian and Sir Sullivan Carmichael as they had left for the dead man's land.

He didn't want to send the lady but he didn't dare oppose what senior Carmichael had to say as he was only a lowly vampire who worked for the Duke now. He knew why his master was worried and with that sole reason, he had wanted his woman to stay inside the four walls of the mansion where she could be kept safe but no one had expected for the vulture to come to take her out. And now that it was done, he worried for her.

Opening the door, he caught sight of the Duke who stepped out of the carriage, giving his hand for the lady, Vivian stepped out.

For a moment he thought they had made up but neither of them spoke to each other. Lady Vivian was the first one to enter inside the mansion and she didn't murmur her thanks which she used to every time he greeted her after she was home.

The Duke held a sullen look and he dared not ask about how the council meeting or his day went. His nose picked the faint smell of the dead which came from both of them.

Vivian was too shocked to get her head working at the moment. Though she had held up her ground during the questions which the councilman Lionel had for her, she felt that both her mind and body were exhausted.

Removing her clothes mindlessly, she went to take a bath. Turning on the tap to the tub, she let it fill in before getting into it. After leaving the village of the dead, she had stared into space.

She wanted to cry but not a drop of tear spilled out of her eyes. Why was she not able to cry? she asked herself. Had she cried in the past so much that there was none left? But the truth was that the truth hurt her that she couldn't digest what she came to know. The pain was something that she could not comprehend and her mind was taking time to digest what she saw in the house when she touched the wooden box. Remembering what she saw, she connected the dots slow and steadily that a chill ran down her spine.

Leaning back, she slowly submerged herself entirely in the water while holding back her breath as she looked up at the ceiling of the bathroom which looked blurred.

When she couldn't take it anymore, she moved and sat up gasping for air. Water splashed out as she heaved for air. Holding the sides of the tub with both her hands, she pushed herself. Wearing her clothes which she had brought along with her, she stepped out to see Leonard who was sitting at the edge of the bed waiting for her.