Toofy Ch. 08

The two of them entered the library, and she waved a hand ahead of them where a man was already waiting for her. "She greets the Lord Yu."

The man turned to her and gave a somewhat unstable bow, already wet despite the early hour, "Lady Twenty Four. And of course, her escort is also known to me. It is a pleasure to meet you again, Lord Castelle the Third."

Castelle the Younger bowed, and released her arm, "So, what is the nature of this ever so important meeting?"

Toofy smiled slowly at him, "She is researching a topic, but cannot read the language. She borrows the eyes of Lord Yu."

The man picked up one of the manuscripts, "To get right into it, Lady Twenty Four, I believe I have already located the document that you are looking for, based on the scant details of your letter."

Castelle the Younger considered them both curiously, and took the document, running his eyes over the given page. "Enteric. Eugh. I am afraid that I can only poorly read it. My youth was not put to such use as learning it, despite my tutors efforts."

"This passage here," Lord Yu indicated, "Refers to the birth of young human woman. The authour was careful not to name either the child, or the mother. However, the birth was not easy, and resulted in a curious crescent-shaped birthmark on the daughter's face."

Castelle's eyes flicked to Toofy in a bewildered sort of fear, "This document, Lord Yu, are there many copies?"

"Oh, many, sir. It is the official births registrar. Copies are distributed to all noble households, and of course, the emperor's archives." Yu said in amusement.

The cat smiled lopsidedly as her victim realised what she was showing to him. She hadn't planned to let him know so early, but she had no problems with letting him know she had him backed into a corner.

She hadn't quite decided what to do with him. This was just an information gathering exercise.

She spoke innocently, "Is there anything else, Lord Yu, that can tell us of the child?"

"Much." He nodded, taking back the passage, "Most of the record is devoted to the troublesome birth, but it also notes several people who were present at the time. Witnesses of the birth, if you will. Those named are all servants of noble families, and known to me."

"Which families?" Toofy inquired as the man beside her began to sweat, his smell permeating her nose.

Lord Yu shrugged, "The two midwives are of the Vanhern household, implying that the mother was at least connected with that household. There was also a military guard set, which is unusual, of the Castelle household. Finally, there was a handmaiden, also of the Vanhern household, implying that the mother was a noblewoman."

Toofy frowned, screwing up her face, "This guard. Has Lord Yu located other records on him?"

"No need. I already know his fate." Lord Yu replied, "The temple was hired to ensure his death some little time ago. Shortly after this record was made, in fact. If you want to locate where he was interred, you will have to speak to your own slave, Elia. She was my preference for quite some time, including for this particular task."

Castelle the Younger looked at Toofy in nothing short of terror, "May I ask why this particular case interests you, my dear Lady Twenty Four?"

"She finds it curious." Toofy replied with amusement, eyes sparkling, "She thanks the Lord Yu. He has been most efficient. Perhaps he should make a note of this record, it could come in useful to both himself, and Toofy."

"Quite." Lord Yu agreed, putting it aside, and bowing. "Was that all, m'lady? I have other tasks to attend to, since you have taken my favourite from me. Her replacement needs training."

Toofy was amused by the false implication that he hadn't already replaced Elia. He was just annoyed that she had bought the woman from him, and he couldn't use her whenever he felt like it.

"On the subject of our shared favourite, Toofy has found it difficult to encourage her to... Use her tail." She said slowly.

He chuckled softly, "Yes. That one did have some curious boundaries. I was willing to accept them, as that was not the main reason that the temple trained her. I'm afraid I cannot help you, m'lady."

Toofy was satisfied with the answer. She mostly wanted to tease him that she had Elia in all the ways he wanted, and he didn't.

She bowed her head, "Please, take your leave, m'lord. Toofy has much to do, as well. She looks forward to our next meeting."

"I pray that the day does not come too soon." Lord Yu said cautiously, bowed, and walked passed them.

Toofy turned and bounced up onto the table, sitting on it and looking at the younger Castelle with a sparkle in her golden eyes. "She has no plans for it, if he is worried. She merely wanted to be able to prove it."

"Father told me the records were expunged." He said hoarsely.

She laughed softly, "This is the empire, not a land of barbarians. There are always records. You can find what you want, if you are determined enough. This, the temple teaches. This, the palace fears of the temple."

Castelle the Younger took a deep breath, "You've proven it. Now, what? I am supposed to simply accept that you're not attempting anything against me?"

"Mmm." She nodded, "If Toofy wanted to bring harm to him, then the time is not right. He is protected by his father."

The man finally understood, "Shit. You're planning a coup, aren't you? Once father is gone, I would inherit the property. But not if this came to light, because I'd be rolling in some ditch by the hand of a very angry father."

"Your mother will be granted dispensation to lead the estate." Toofy said carefully, "Either by your absence, or your directive. She doesn't care which it is, but he should be prepared to make the choice. He could, of course, try and hurt the cat. Make her threat go away."

"Not after you informed Lord Yu." He grated, "Even if the man despised you, he would prefer it if I were the heir, because he could blackmail me if and when the temple found it convenient."

She grinned.

The young man shook his head, glaring openly at her, "And here I was, trying to be polite. You... Hellspawn."

"Toofy didn't like his motivations." She replied, "She has chosen her master. She has but one, and she will return to him. If he does not want her to hate him, then he must distance himself from his father's efforts to kill her master."

Castelle the Younger swallowed nervously, "If I were to assist you in some small way, to bring him to freedom, would you cease these efforts to place my mother over me?"

"Perhaps." She said teasingly.

He rubbed his chin, "Well. I suppose my father has done his best to set us against each other, then. However, there is one way that I can assist you. Increase your standing, considerably."

Toofy blinked in surprise. She had mostly assumed that he was as useless as his father thought he was. What favour could he possibly offer to her?

Castelle the Younger spread his hands, "It would require you agreeing to leave things be."

"She cannot. Wheels lie in motion. Soon the estate will be struck by tragedy." Toofy said honestly, "Time cannot be slowed or stopped. She can promise not to try and hurt him. Best she can say."

"Good enough." He swallowed, "I have been offered a posting for consideration, and if I cannot for some reason take it, then I can make a suggestion. Such a suggestion has never been rejected, it is unprecedented."

"Posting?" She cocked her head.

He nodded, "A simple task. The empire requires an ambassador to discover what has happened to a missing gold shipment to one of our borders. It was intended as a ransom for some petty lord, but disappeared before it arrived."

She smiled broadly, "It would also get her out of the estate. Away from the little lord. He would find it easier to sleep."

"That is true." He chuckled, "But to be an ambassador, you must be of a certain standing. A titled lady is certainly enough. However, her status of a slave would be unacceptable. You would be freed, and granted your citizenship. Confirmed by a guard escort in your duties."

Toofy's eyes glowed in excitement at the prospect.

The plan would make her other machinations more difficult, and would separate her from both Arina and Elia. Yet, it would also give her even more deniability over the looming events.

She nodded slowly, "An accord. If the little lord would put forth her name, then Toofy shall forget she managed to prove what it is that his father told to her. She will even make Lord Yu consider it carefully before he tried to use such a thing."

The man relaxed, "I will make my recommendation today, then. This has been more exhausting than I expected. May I take my leave, your ladyship?"

"Mmm... If he desires." She said carefully, "However, she wishes to show him something else, if he has the time. It is well worth it, she promises. Would the lord walk with Toofy?"

He held out his arm to her politely.

She led him out of the library, her mind turning over the possibilities. What she'd agreed to came with considerable risk. It was likely she would be attacked during the duties, and might not return.

She had been taken out by a lone elf, on the hunt. It still haunted her dreams at night, causing her to wake up in tears, crying out for Sai.

Elia had been the one to offer her tail as a kind of calming toy to her, during the worst nights. Yet, the nightmares were getting worse, not better.

"Mother's garden?" He asked politely as they neared the destination.

She nodded, and took a certain pathway that hid them from the sight of the guards and patrols. "This path is private, but if he takes liberties, the kitty has claws."

"I would not dare to touch one intended to be my bride." Castelle the Younger lied through his teeth. He stank of lust.

She took him to a small stone structure, a singular and circular room near the edge of the garden. She opened the door and curtsied to the image as she entered.

He followed her in, "Oh my. I thought mother had abandoned this shrine."

"Her Arina is a devotee." Toofy explained as she idly circled the statue to the Green Goddess, "That is not what she wished to show to him. This was not made by his mother or father."

Castelle the Younger frowned, "It wasn't? I thought father had it built."

"He did, from a certain view." Toofy agreed, "However, before the Green Goddess stood here, another god did. The shrine was broken and desecrated long ago. His father simply had the new goddess built in place."

"It was a shrine to one of the betrayer gods?" He said curiously, "How odd. I don't quite get what you wish me to see, however."

"Those who worshipped the betrayers must often run. Hunted by the ones who hate them." Toofy said, and touched the pedestal softly, and then idly flicked several shapes back and forth in a pattern.

There was a shuddering creak, and then a popping sound of a latch coming undone.

Toofy crouched and pulled open a small door, revealing a black passageway that was barely large enough to fit one person crawling. She waved a hand, "This is unmarked upon the maps of the estate."

"Oh my." Castelle the Younger said in surprise, "That seems... Unsafe."

She nodded in agreement, "It did take Toofy a few days to reinforce the tunnel, and dig out a few places. Leads to an underground place. A city, beneath the city."

He stared at her, "A city? I don't understand. The city wasn't built over the top of any ancient city. I think I would have remembered at least that much from my lessons as a boy."

Toofy chuckled, "Truth. The city was not built on top. The city was built underneath. Dug out during the temple's scourging. She thinks maybe a hundred years ago. The lower city is younger, and uninhabited."

He swallowed nervously, "This seems like a dangerous escape route, to take. Hardly somewhere I could take a paramour. Why show it to me?"

"Not escape. A place of waiting." Toofy said and closed the hidden door. She dusted off her hands as she stood up, "Uninhabited today, not forever. One day the little lord will find it full, and on that day, he should flee to undercity. Ask to join them."

He looked at her in confusion, "I am uncertain what it is exactly that you are telling me, Lady Twenty Four."

"Simply remember it." She said innocently, "But, she has taken enough of his time. She should return to her duties, and report to his mother."

He bowed to her, "Of course. And I have a letter to write, of my own. I will let you know of the response as soon as I hear one. One question before we part, however, if I may?"

She nodded.

He swallowed, "How did you even find this?"

"Toofy followed her favourite snack. She was hunting it, when it disappeared inside the stone. Took her a while to find the key to open it." She shrugged.

"Favourite snack?" He latched onto something he could use, "What shall I remember to ask the chef for, if I could ever convince the lady to join me for a meal?"

"Scorpion." She shrugged. "She is not human, m'lord."

--

"Gamekeep." Elia said, one leg idly hanging from the tree branch she was sitting in. She bit into the apple she'd filched from somewhere, and looked over at the man who had landed in a crouch a branch higher than her.

He sat down and tossed her a peach, taking another from his bag, "Fresh. How is Isaac, today, assassin?"

She shrugged, and sniffed at the peach before giving a nibble of the soft and furry flesh. It was a little tart, but still somewhat sweet. "Following his routine. Seems to have settled in as the lord of the estate, if only in word."

Tyre sighed, both legs dangling from his branch as he watched the estate, "As much as I enjoy our little conversations, and stalking the targets of your mistress, I am afraid you won't be seeing me for a while."

"I really don't care." Elia laughed, her tail flicking with amusement.

He shrugged, "I've been ordered to accompany some ambassador in a hunt for a missing ransom, which tells me it isn't a normal hunt. My job to keep them alive. I might not be coming back."

Elia rolled her red eyes, "Did say that I don't care."

"The two of us protecting Twenty Four is better than just yourself. It isn't like she goes out of her way to not make enemies." He said carefully. "I expect that whilst I'm gone, Sai will probably be executed."

Elia flinched, and the peach exploded as one of her hands turned instinctively into a fist. She looked at the crushed stone and dropped the pieces of the seed. "Are you certain?"

"Of the when? Not at all." He shook his head, "But that it'll happen? Absolutely. They'll at least try. He's a liability to the emperor, for more reasons than I care to name. He's been facing assassination attempts every few days. Poisoned food. Guests with a knife who turn out to have expunged records. It would be more convenient if he died before execution, but the trial isn't going to find him innocent."

Elia looked at the man carefully, "You've been doing this longer than I have. What do you think Twenty Four is going to do when Lord Sai is killed?"

"I don't have a single clue. Every time I think I've worked out your mistress, she goes and does something to surprise me." He said with irritation, "It is as if she enjoys the chaos more than the results. No clear goals. Just trying to cause problems."

Elia laughed and leaned back into the trunk of the tree, "You know, that wouldn't surprise me in the least. She's a little chaos princess, sometimes."

"What chaos has she got for Isaac, today?" He asked idly.

She smiled in amusement, "A pie. With a live scorpion in it. Kitchen is in the process of delivering it."

"Where the hell does your mistress find those buggers?" Tyre said in irritation, "I went looking, hunting, for a nest. Couldn't find a single one."

She rolled her eyes, "I got stung by one on the roof. You tried looking there?"

"Yes. Actually."

Elia frowned, "The ones she like are... Unusual. But is it surprising that with her magic she can find them? I've assumed she can summon them. Some kind of neko thing. They're a desert race. Being able to draw out a snack would be helpful."

"They're not magic." Tyre shook his head, "I've inspected a half-dozen of the ones she's eaten. They're not summoned, either. Perfectly normal, as far as I can tell."

The succubus shrugged, yawning. "If something around Twenty Four doesn't make sense, then I'd just give up. She isn't one for explaining things. She's also not half the planner she makes you think she is. Just chaotic. Shit happens."

"I don't like things I can't explain." Tyre said darkly.

She considered him, and sighed, "You managed to explain the caged neko? I could pay you for the information, in our usual way, if you're interested."

He chuckled, "Your mistress mind you paying me, with your body? Seems to me that she's been getting more possessive of you, lately."

"Who I fuck is my business." Elia shot back, and smiled at him slowly, "It isn't like I need an excuse to bed you, gamekeep. You're not offensive to my senses, only the mistress'."

Tyre smiled at her, "Was that supposed to be romantic, succubus?"

"If you go and get killed on this new mission of yours, I might feel disappointed. Mildly." She offered to him.

He rolled his eyes, "Make up your mind. You either care or don't."

"I kill people, Tyre. Getting close to them isn't something I've ever learned to do." Elia shook her head. "You being fuckable is about the best you'll ever get out of me. If you want more than that, you should look elsewhere."

Isaac screamed loudly in a high pitch voice, and the two of them smiled at each other in the tree in amusement.

The gamekeep slowly lowered himself onto her branch, resting on the balls of his feet, "I'm afraid I am a little fond of you, succubus."

"And I, you. I'd rather that Toofy never orders me to kill you." She offered the best that she could of the strange-smelling man who pretended to be human.

The first time she'd offered her flesh to him had been about information. He'd teased her that he knew some things that she didn't, which she wanted to tell her mistress.

So she'd reached into his skull and plucked out the image of desire that he had there, using her magic to become it, without even knowing what it was.

He'd tried to kill her on the spot.

Then somehow their wrestling match had become all teeth and biting, and she'd ended up pulling his pants down and mounting him in a frantic moment of passion.

They always danced around it, but she'd been looking forward to his visits ever since.

She didn't know what he was. He wasn't human, or at least not entirely. He smelled wrong for that, and tasted different as well. He also had a strength that was unusual.

She knew his past was black and bloody, almost as much as her own, and that neither of them would ever fully admit what it was that they had done.

She looked at him, red eyes glowing and let out a warning growl. Her tail flicked the air, and she watched him for a response.

His eyes flashed green for a moment, sending a shiver down her spine.

She smirked at him, "If you want me to look like her, again, you might need to tell me what her name was."

"Helen." He said angrily.

The shiver passed over her. Coal-black skin becoming a couple shades lighter, but only a couple. Her hair shrivelled up and disappeared on one side, leaving her half-shaven. Red eyes faded until they suddenly burst into a brilliant blue.

Tyre let out a quiet yell of anger and tackled her out of the tree.

She laughed madly as she hit the dirt, feeling the tree roots crack painfully in her back as he pinned her. Smiling up at him, teasing him by refusing to be afraid.

He snarled, and gave a playful bite to her cheek. She responded by grabbing his head and forcing him to kiss her. Feeling the roughness of his face, the ever-present dirt on him.