Ever since Seraphina's soul shackles had been released in my body, I'd felt a distinct feeling of longing, almost as if my body was tugging at the soft winds blowing throughout the lilac and scarlet garden.
My feet felt weightless and harmonic; they were perfectly adapted to this world's environment.
Looking up at Lilia's open window, I slowly pushed up off my feet. My body lifted into the air, floating above the tiled stone. It took me a minute to truly get the hang of this new power.
My body twisted and turned; it only stopped once I focused on the divinity in my blood. Calming its path and spreading it throughout my body, aiding my flight. A shimmering light emanated from my body.
It wasn't easy to control my flight. I now understood why wings were so important to stabilizing flight; it was really quite the bother to keep myself upright, even with the aid of my divinity.
Eventually, I landed softly on Lilia's windowsill. Her emerald eyes immediately snapped to my presence. Judging by her blatant annoyance, I wasn't exactly welcome. She said nothing to me, her ebony hair flowing along the gentle breeze.
I stepped into the room, seating myself in a small armchair, looking directly at Lilia's turned head.
"So it's you. Are you to be my executor?" asked Lilia.
My jaw noticeably stiffened at her words. I wouldn't dream of laying a hand on Lilia. I wouldn't allow myself to be blinded by Seraphina's control if there was one thing I was sure of, then it was that my friends were precious.
Maybe the only precious thing in this life, I couldn't forget that.
Just before I spoke, I extended my light to Lilia's sacred band, covering its surface from Ickni's ears.
"No. I'm not allowed to see you, actually. I'm here to help you, please." I said, my voice sinking into pleas.
"Help me…? I'm already lost, I've committed the unthinkable."
Lilia's face was still turned away from me, although I didn't need to see her expression to see into her heart; her hands were tightly clasped around the bed sheets.
"You don't have to be lost. I can help you. I refuse to believe that you are a traitor."
"What makes you think I'm anything but a traitorous dog?"
"When we first met in that valley of lilac and golden, you wouldn't stop ranting about 'my charming, handsome, and beloved Custodian. I refuse to believe such a devoted follower would turn traitor."
"You really are dense, aren't you?"
"How am I dense for wanting to help you?"
"You know everything about the Custodian and this horrid system. Once I was promoted, I got to gaze upon 'my beloved.'"
Lilia's voice was hollow; there was none of her previous admiration and love. She gathered her breath and continued speaking.
"Ickni, the terror is the name that all the servants and first and second strings use. I had once rejected that name, blaming it on a misunderstanding. I ranted about love and the Custodian's true heart. But I was wrong, there is no room for any love in Ickni's heart. Only a cold feeling of amusement for inflicting pain."
"My first meeting with the Custodian wasn't what I had dreamed of. Five of us went in, and I was the only one eager to please; the others' faces were stricken with fear. The Custodian called my attitude an interesting source of entertainment."
"One of the others committed an unthinkable sin in the Custodian's eyes, speaking out of her turn by briefly clearing his throat. In penance for his actions, she spoke four strings of numbers, extinguishing their lives in a moment.
"I was the only one to walk out," said Lilia.
In the face of Lilia's story, I didn't speak, merely averting my eyes to the floor. I knew everything that she said was true; I couldn't reject that. Ickni had destroyed an innocent servant for doing his job when I first arrived.
"So, Evernight, do you see why I contacted a devil?"
"Even though your image on Ickni was shattered, I still don't believe you'd willingly take such a risk while wearing a sacred band. No one in this Dominion is that brave to incur Ickni's wrath."
"You question my bravery?"
"I do. I don't believe someone who has been under the thumb of Ickni for centuries, following a blind image of love, would still have the will to rebel after that image was shattered. It's just not possible if Artoria or Julius don't have the heart to try and rebel. Then I refuse to believe a shattered woman would pull together more courage than those two."
"Harsh words, you'll never find a girlfriend with a mouth like that."
Lilia's face turned towards me, her eyes red and dry. A remnant of a tear dripped from her chin. We sat staring at each other in silence for a couple of minutes.
The air wasn't awkward, oddly comforting.
"No matter how much it pains me, I'll admit you are right. I'm nothing but a sacred little girl following others' orders. I couldn't rebel even if I wanted to. Ever since my meeting with Ickni, my mind has been somewhere else in a realm of oblivion, detached from my putrid existence."
"So how did you come to bear the scent of a devil?"
"Oh, Evernight. Looking into your eyes, I tell you don't know the first thing about devils. How can you be so obvious to the ways of this world, how you haven't died is a miracle in itself."
"I'm not that oblivious." I retorted.