Chapter 2: Trapped in the Spider’s Web

Chapter 2:
Trapped in the Spider’s Web

 

INK WOKE EARLY the next morning, around the same time as Flum, and emerged into the living room alongside Eterna. It was clear that the young girl still wasn’t fully awake by the way her head bobbed from side to side as she walked. Milkit guided the girl to a seat and poured her a glass of warm milk.

Ink wrapped her hands delicately around the glass and sipped at the liquid. After emptying about half of the cup’s contents, she seemed to finally rouse completely awake. “Wow, what is this?? I’ve never tasted something so delicious!”

There was nothing particularly special about warmed milk…unless this was her first time tasting it. Flum had a lot of questions for the newcomer, but her grumbling stomach distracted her before she had a chance to start digging. The women sat down around the dining table and made short work of the scrumptious breakfast Milkit had prepared. Eterna had to help Ink along in the beginning, since she couldn’t see where anything was, but she got the hang of it eventually.

“You’re quite good at that,” Milkit observed.

“I’ve been like this ever since I was born. You get used to it,” Ink responded nonchalantly. She quickly changed the subject back to the meal at hand. “You know, everything here tastes absolutely amazing! I’ve never had anything like this in my life!”

The spread consisted of relatively common dishes in the kingdom. Milkit was a gifted cook, but this still raised a lot of questions about where Ink came from.

After finishing their breakfast, the group took a short break before finally moving on to the questions at hand. Unfortunately, Ink continued to claim amnesia for anything she didn’t want to discuss.

“Listen, Ink, I know you said you didn’t live in a normal home. But you weren’t from an orphanage either, right?”

“I can’t really say for sure, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t an orphanage, yeah.”

“Were there other kids there? If so, how many?”

“Dunno.”

“Was there anyone that took care of you?”

“Mother…I guess.”

“This Mother person, was she some kind of caregiver?”

“I dunno. But she was kinda like a parent to us.”

“But not your real parent?”

“Right. As far as I can recall, I don’t think I’ve ever met my real parents. Maybe.”

A place where you could leave kids without any relatives. That sounded like…

“Isn’t that an orphanage?”

It was the only idea that came to Flum’s mind. Ink shook her head emphatically. “Hmm… I really don’t think so. I don’t know a whole lot about orphanages, but Mother didn’t seem too keen on them.”

“Why’s that?”

“I guess it’s because she thought of us as her own children…maybe?”

Eterna smiled gently at the young girl. “There’s just one thing I wanted to ask you, Ink. Have you had any problems with your heart, by chance?”

“No… At least not that I’ve heard of. But…”

“But?”

“Never mind. It’s nothing.”

She was clearly lying. But no matter how much they pushed, she just wouldn’t budge.

“Hmm…were you in a hospital?” Flum tried, approaching the question from a slightly different angle, but Ink once again shook her head. Just where was this girl from?

What answers she did give them were surprisingly detailed for someone with supposed amnesia. Ultimately, they concluded that Ink most likely did live somewhere in the West District. Though she may have spent an entire evening out on her own, it was doubtful she could have made it very far on foot. It was also clear that there had been several other people living with her, wherever that was. The place was apparently kept under wraps, meaning it probably wasn’t a public institution, and definitely not one prepared just for Ink’s sake.

“Hey, can we stop? All these questions are making my head hurt.”

“I’m sorry, Ink,” Eterna said. “You’re right, you must still be exhausted. But can I ask one last question?”

Ink paused for a moment before nodding.

“From what I’m hearing, it sounds like you lived in this place your whole life. So why did you run away?”

Ink’s expression darkened at this. She struggled to answer the question, perhaps not quite certain of the answer herself. “Something…felt strange. Once I noticed it, I couldn’t get it off my mind, and the feeling started to grow stronger and stronger, until I couldn’t take it anymore.”

“What felt strange?”

“My family.” Her answer came out in barely above a whisper. “We were all raised together like a big family, and it always seemed so natural to me… Like that was how things were supposed to be. But I started to feel like what Mother called a family wasn’t actually what felt like a family to me.”

“Well, I think Ink has had enough for now. Why don’t we take you back to my room to rest?” Eterna helped Ink to her feet.

“Thanks, I think I’d like that.”

Flum felt a little bad for how hard she pushed the young girl, but she couldn’t get over the feeling of unease welling up within her. The image of the ogre from back in Anichidey kept springing to mind. Its creators had likely spent the decade since they released that abomination into the world refining their work. Who knew what they could create now?

If Ink’s situation had something to do with the church, then the odds of running into another of those monstrous creations were far greater than she liked. Her heart sank just thinking about it.

Flum propped her chin in both of her hands and leaned forward on the table, gently massaging her temples with her thumbs while she let out a heavy sigh.

“…Master?” Milkit gingerly placed her hands on Flum’s shirt collar. “This might be a bit presumptuous of me to say, but you really shouldn’t carry the world on your shoulders like that.”

“Milkit…”

“The same goes for the events back in Anichidey and everything going on with Dein. I… I suspect I weigh heavily on your mind, Master, and that burden is taking a lot out of you. I think it would do you some good to rely more on others and let yourself breathe more freely.”

Though Milkit struggled for the right words, it warmed Flum’s heart to see her try so hard to cheer her up.

“Thanks Milkit, that really helps.” She reached up and ran a hand through Milkit’s silver hair, eliciting a smile from her companion.

“Whenever I feel Master’s touch, I can feel a warmth building up in my chest. Almost like I’m the one being cheered up instead.”

“Not at all, Milkit. Just seeing you smile brings me happiness.”

“Even though you’re doing all the work?”

Flum laughed. “I’d hardly call rubbing your head work. Honestly, I could do it all day if you’d let me”

“So I guess it’s not just me who feels that way, then.”

“Nope. So just sit there, enjoy the sensation, and let that warm feeling spread.”

Contentment took a different shape for everyone: while some were happy to be doted on, there were others who enjoyed doing the doting. But maybe those weren’t quite the right words for it. In their own way, they were giving each other the happiness they needed.

After administering Milkit’s dose of love and affection for the day, Flum made her way out into the city in search of answers to her surfeit of questions.

 

***

 

Though Sara already planned to check out the West District church, it was right on her way to the adventurers’ guild, so Flum took a quick detour.

Generally speaking, the farther you traveled into the West District, the more the streets were strewn with garbage, and the more businesses of ill-repute and vagrants you were likely to encounter. The church stood out in stark contrast to the rest of the neighborhood. The tireless efforts of the nuns and knights to keep the area clean made it feel like it was scarcely part of the West District at all.

Today was apparently the knights’ turn at cleaning duty, judging by the number of men in plate armor sweeping the streets. It was a bizarre sight. Flum did a quick circuit of the perimeter and spotted a familiar face. “Oh, hey, Sara.”

Much like the knights Flum saw earlier, Sara was wielding a broom. “Hiya Flum. What brings you here?”

“I was on my way to the guild and figured I’d just stop by. You?” Sara had her own duties to fulfill as a nun in training, and Flum never expected that she would be out here so quickly. The girl was much more enthusiastic than Flum gave her credit for.

“I already had plans to come out here, actually. If I didn’t, those two would get lonely.”

“Hey, who are you saying would be lonely?” A blonde knight stepped up behind Sara and ruffled her hair.

“You’re…Ed, right?” Flum asked.

“Oh, hey, I remember you. You caught that thief, right?”

“Call me Flum.”

“She’s my friend!”

Ed put a hand to his chin and looked Flum over. “Ya don’t say.”

His gaze was locked on the slave brand burned into Flum’s cheek, but she didn’t get the sense that he was judging her.

“So I guess this little punk finally made a friend outside the church, huh?! That should be cause for celebration, I’d say!” A broad grin broke out on his face.

“Knock! It! Off!” Sara thrashed about to get away from Ed’s grasp, but his arms were just too long for her to put up any effective resistance.

“You know that’s never gonna happen. How long has he been teasing you, now?” A blue-haired man approached them from the other direction, walking with a relaxed gait.

Flum bowed politely to the newcomer. “Thanks for your help earlier, Jonny.” This was the first time they met since he helped out with the whole Leitch snatch-and-grab ordeal.

“It’s nothing. You were a huge help, after all.”

“Not like we got any extra cash for our efforts, though…”

“Of course you didn’t! We don’t do this for money, y’know?! Now cut it out and stop mussing up my haaaair!!”

“Aww, c’mon, how can you see a cute li’l head like that and not want to touch it? It’s like trying to turn away a puppy in need of a belly rub. Right, Jonny?”

Jonny kept his face expressionless as Ed continued to play around with Sara’s hair. “No comment.”

“You guys must be close,” Flum said.

“Not at all! How could I be friends with jerks like these?!”

Flum couldn’t help but laugh.

According to Sara, they’d known each other for eight years. The two older men had basically adopted Sara as their little sister when she was taken in by the church, and they’d only grown closer since. Despite their protestations to the contrary, they were a tight-knit group.

Jonny turned his attention away from his squabbling friends to ask Flum a question. “So, what brings you to our church? It doesn’t seem like you’re here to worship.”

“Well, you see, I found a lost girl yesterday and took her in for the night, but she claims she doesn’t know where she’s from. You don’t happen to know if the orphanage happened to have a runaway, do you?” Flum felt she could probably trust a close friend of Sara’s, even if he was a knight of the church. She still kept the details to the absolute minimum.

“I haven’t heard of anything like that at the church’s orphanage, no.”

“Nothing like that from outside the West District, from what I’ve heard.”

“I even asked around the Central District church, but no one seemed to know of anyone that fit the description. Hey, I told you to cut it out, Ed!!”

All three seemed to be in agreement.

“Do you want me to see about having her admitted to the orphanage here?”

“I, uh… No, that’s okay. She seems to be doing all right for now.”

“Huh, I see…”

Under normal circumstances, it would make a lot more sense to leave her in a place used to dealing with orphans while they continued to look for her family. Alas, Flum just couldn’t hand the girl over to the church. Not with the possibility that she could be returned to whatever place—possibly even a research lab—that she’d run away from.

It was quickly becoming apparent she wasn’t going to learn anything useful here. Flum decided it was about time to move on. As she scanned ahead, though, she caught sight of someone off in the distance, behind Jonny.

“Huh?”

It was a woman with two red ponytails emerging from the top of her head, dressed in a white military uniform and armed with a long saber that hung from her waist. She was watching Flum intently.

“Is that…Ottilie?”

The three members of the church turned instantly to look in the woman’s direction. Once all eyes were on her, she moved in toward the group with confident strides. She never took her gaze off Flum’s face.

“So it is you, Ottilie.”

“Is that really you, Flum?”

“I can’t promise no one’s out there pretending to be me, but I can say that I am Flum Apricot.”

Ottilie’s cheek twitched slightly at this. After a tense moment, her shoulders dropped, and she let out a heavy sigh. “What’s this all about?”

“Did something happen, Ottilie?”

“You… I mean, just what’s going on here? What are you doing here, Flum Apricot? You’re supposed to be out on the great quest to take down the Demon Lord! And what happened to your face?!”

Flum moved back a step. “Well, I mean, some things kinda came up…”

Flum and Ottilie had first met when she left her hometown of Patolia to join the quest to slay the Demon Lord. Ottilie had shown up in a horse-drawn carriage to take Flum back to the capital, and they’d gotten to know one another over the course of the three-day journey.

“Hey, what’s a member of the royal army doing here anyway?” Ed, Jonny, and Sara looked back and forth at each other during Flum and Ottilie’s exchange, barely able to contain their surprise.

“Hey, Sara, does Flum have some sort of connection to the military?”

“It wouldn’t be surprising if she did. I mean, Flum here was one of the members of the great party to slay the Demon Lord, y’know.”

“Wait a sec… You’re not the Flum Apricot, are you?” Ed finally put it together.

“What’s the great hero Flum Apricot doing here? And with the mark of a slave, no less?” Jonny tilted his head quizzically.

“Something ‘came up?’ Hardly! What’s happened with the journey?! And why are you marked as a slave??” Apparently Ottilie was wondering the same thing.

“I was kicked out of the party, so I’m living in the capital now. I got the mark around the same time.”

“Kicked out?? By who?! No, wait, you don’t even need to answer that. It was that good-for-nothing scum, wasn’t it?” Ottilie immediately knew who was to blame for all this. “Jean Inteige, right?”

Flum laughed darkly. “Good guess.”

Apparently, Jean’s erratic behavior wasn’t restricted to the quest to slay the Demon Lord. He’d behaved much the same way in his time as a royal mage.

“He sold me out to a slave trader. Then there was this perfect storm of useful coincidences, and I busted loose. And here I am.”

“A perfect storm…”

“And what about you, Ottilie? What brings you all the way out to the West District? The royal army must keep you busy.”

During their long carriage ride to the capital, Ottilie had joked that her sister kept her nose to the grindstone; that the trip to collect Flum was her first real break from being under her watchful gaze. This made sense when you realized that her older sister was Henriette, the highest-ranking general in the royal army. The two were close, and it was treated as a foregone conclusion that Ottilie would follow in her big sister’s footsteps.

“Umm, well, you see…” Ottilie seemed unusually hesitant, She looked over toward Sara and her companions. “My sister sent me on patrol.”

She was clearly lying, but Flum wasn’t about to dig deeper into sensitive military affairs. “A soldier’s life is never easy, I guess.”

“Nothing compared to you, with that slave marking etched into your face. Aren’t you upset about that?”

“I’ve come to terms with it.”

Ottilie let out another heavy sigh at Flum’s casual response. “There’s still so much I’d like to ask you, but alas, it’s about time for me to head back. We’ll talk more next time we meet.”

“I guess I’ll see ya, then.”

“…Actually, it’s unlikely we’ll run into each other again, now that I think about it. Listen, I’m usually in or around the castle, so please stop by when you get the chance, okay?”

“Once I’ve got some free time, for sure. Is that really okay, though? I can’t imagine a lieutenant general like yourself making time for the likes of me…”

“Don’t underestimate yourself. A mighty hero that the entire country rallied behind, wandering the roughest part of the capital with a slave brand on her face? Were it anyone else, this would be a scandal.”

The conviction behind her words hit Flum deep. She knew very well that she was a plain-looking girl, and that, compared with her lack of talent relative to the other heroes, was probably why no one recognized her until she told them who she was.

“Stop by and see me sometime, seriously. I, and the rest of the royal army, are partially to blame for what’s happened to you. We’re the ones who brought you here, after all.”

With that, Ottilie turned and left. It was rare for a member of the royal army to express any sense of regret, but seeing Flum standing before her marked as a slave must have had quite an impact on her. After all, it was the church that had called together the heroes in the first place.

Once Ottilie was out of sight, the group heaved a collective sigh.

“Huh? What’s wrong?” Flum could understand being nervous with the military around, but the reaction seemed a bit much.

Ed was the first to respond. “Don’t you know? The royal army and church knights have something of a strained relationship.”

“I never knew that. Why?”

“You can’t be serious… Look, the military works directly for the royal family, while we serve the church. You still with me? This means there’s essentially two armies existing concurrently within the country.”

The royal army and the church’s knights were evenly matched in terms of numbers, but the knights had light-affinity troops trained in the priesthood of Origin’s curative magic. This almost certainly made them the more powerful force.

Jonny and Sara continued on. “Officially speaking, the royal army outranks us. In reality…”

“On the surface, we work hand in hand to ensure the safety of the whole kingdom. But there’s a lot of vying for power that happens behind the scenes.”

“Huh. So you’re officially allies, but there’s bad blood between you?”

Flum was starting to realize she truly had no idea of everything that hid beneath the skin of the world she knew. The kingdom encompassed the entire continent, with the exception of the demon lands up north. Alas, it was human nature to battle for supremacy.

Or perhaps there was a greater force at work, playing with the will of man.

A commoner might find serenity in thinking of these things as faraway power struggles, irrelevant to their daily life. Flum no longer had that privilege. After all, someone affiliated with the church was out to get her.

She looked up at the sky as a sinking feeling came over her. It would still be quite some time until peace finally came to the capital.

 

***

 

After the brief encounter with Ottilie, Flum checked around some stairwells leading into cellars near the church, but her search came up empty. She finally gave up around noon to head back home and have some lunch.

“I’m hoooome!”

Milkit stopped what she was doing and rushed over to meet Flum at the door. She was holding a letter in her hand. “Master, you’re safe!”

“Yeah, I didn’t really find anything of interest. Hey, what’s that letter about?”

Milkit pushed the paper into her hands. “You should read it.”

The paper contained only a few scrawled words: “You killed my father. Now I’m going to take something from you.”

Flum mulled it over. It was probably the work of Dein and his crew, but what were they planning? Milkit looked overcome with concern—not for herself, of course, but for her Master. Flum pulled her into an embrace and ran her fingers through her hair to try and calm her down.

“It’s… It’s dangerous out there, Master. Perhaps you should just stay in for the rest of the day.”

She was right about that; it was dangerous. But that was exactly why Flum needed to go back out and do something about it. From the way the letter was worded, she wasn’t the only one in danger here.

“I’m fine, really. And tough, too.”

“I… I see.” Milkit was clearly unhappy about this decision, so Flum continued on. “But I guess maybe I can stay home for the rest of the day. I’ve still got a lot to prepare, after all.”

Milkit’s face instantly lit up. “Master! Yes, I think that’s a great idea!”

Her beaming smile showed through all the bandages. Flum couldn’t help but smile herself.

 

***

 

“It just doesn’t make sense…” Eterna frowned, tilting her head to the side as she looked over the chart she’d filled with everything she could measure about Ink. She’d used her water magic to scan every aspect of the girl’s body while she slept and found only one anomaly: her heart.

She wasn’t sure how the girl was still alive.

“Something’s been done to her, but I can’t say what that is without a more thorough analysis. The equipment I have here just isn’t sensitive enough to do us any good. I guess we could just open her up and then sew her shut, but I dunno about that…”

“What’re you mumbling on about, Eterna?”

“I’m thinking here. Now just be quiet, I’m trying to concentrate.”

“I know, but…I’m so boooored.”

Eterna gave in to Ink’s childish demands with a sigh and closed her notebook. She was still a child, after all. She picked up a fish-shaped trinket—a spell focus of hers—and handed it over to Ink.

“Whoa, what is this thing? It’s coooold!” Ink held it closely to her chest, where it sat still for a few moments before finally moving, as if it’d gained a life of its own, and squirming out of her grasp. “Aww…it’s gone.”

Still lying on her back, Ink frantically searched the bed for the mysterious object. Every time she got a hand on it, it would quickly squirm away again.

“Hahaha! I don’t know what this is, but I love it! Are you making it move, Eterna?”

“Maybe I am. Or maybe it’s moving around all on its own.”

Ink giggled. “What kind of answer is that?”

The girl had such a cheerful disposition that it was hard to believe she may have been someone’s guinea pig. Maybe it was because she’d grown up with other children in a very similar situation.

“I wonder if they’re all like this…assuming they’re even alive,” Eterna murmured to herself, keeping her voice too low for Ink to overhear. It was practically a given that test subjects would die eventually. It wasn’t a matter of lifespan; test subjects were chosen for expendability, not endurance.

She shook her head. It was too soon to assume Ink had been used that way. They still didn’t even know where she came from.

“Hey, Ink, I was hoping to ask you a few more questions, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure, I’ll answer as best I can. ’Cause I have amnesia, remember…”

“I know you’re lying about that, so you really should just start telling the truth.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“If anything, I’m surprised you thought you could stretch the ruse this far. Anyway, I’d like to hear more about the other kids you mentioned this morning.”

“Did I say something about that?”

“Yep. Anyway, how many were there?”

“Umm, well…”

“What?”

A look of concern washed over Ink’s face. “You won’t mention me if you meet any of the kids, will you? Or kick me out and give me back to them?”

It was a difficult question. Ink was still just a child, after all, and if they found her guardian… But Eterna was painfully familiar with the feeling of having lost your home and being all alone. She came to a decision right then and there.

“No, we won’t.”

It might make things a little more difficult down the road, but Eterna felt an attachment to the young girl. Maybe it was a fleeting, imagined sensation, but she couldn’t turn her back on her.

“I promise you that I won’t unquestioningly believe their side of the story, and I won’t give you up. So please, trust me and tell me what you can.”

Ink looked taken aback by Eterna’s words, but her expression quickly relaxed as the meaning behind them finally sunk in. What she lacked in sight, she made up for in insight. The gentle smile gracing the girl’s face told Eterna that she’d finally gained Ink’s trust.

“There are four other kids, all about two years younger than me.”

“Huh, I figured there were more. And the adults?”

“Well, there’s Mother, of course, and Papa’s off somewhere.”

“Off somewhere?”

“I’ve never actually met him, so I’m not too sure.”

“And you’re not just pretending you don’t know?”

“Nope. I lived there ever since I was born, but I never actually met him. If he’s everyone’s father, then why am I the only one who hasn’t met him?”

If that were true, it would suggest that Ink was being kept away for some reason.

“I couldn’t really keep up with everyone, with how they talked. I started to wonder if maybe this Papa person didn’t even really exist.”

“Why’s that?”

“Everyone always made fun of me… Like making up stories and then pretending they all believed them just to trick me. Even Mother said she’d never actually seen his face. How is that even possible?”

Eterna was grateful that Ink was finally opening up to her, though the more she spoke, the deeper the rabbit hole got. She fought to find a pattern in the details. Why was the absentee parent “Papa,” and the caregiver “Mother?” Why the two-year gap between her and the other children? What made breakfast so compelling for her?

Eterna was lost in thought as she mulled over all these questions.

“Eterna, Iiiink! Time for lunch!” Milkit’s voice calling out from downstairs finally broke her focus.

“Whoa, there’s food in the afternoon, too? Hurry up, Eterna! Let’s go!!”

“Hold your horses, we’ll get down there eventually.”

“I’m just so exhausted from hungeeeeeeer…!”

“Heh. You were snoring just a while ago, kid.” Eterna reached down and plucked the fish-shaped trinket from the bed, eliciting a frown from the young girl. However, a bright grin immediately overtook her face the moment she took Eterna’s outstretched hand.

Hand in hand, the two made their way downstairs for lunch.

 

***

 

Flum spent the rest of the day lazing about the house with Milkit. Just holding her hand seemed to do wonders for easing her tension, and Milkit seemed back to her normal self by the time the day came to a close. The letter from earlier was just an empty threat…or so she thought.

When Flum checked the mail early the next morning, she found ten posters plastered to the side of the wall waiting for her.

“Murderer”

“You’re to blame”

“You killed Papa”

“I’ll have my revenge”

“Enjoy what you have for now—I’ll take it all from you”

Flum stared, mouth agape. “Wh-what is all this?”

She immediately went to work tearing the papers down. The specific how and why behind it didn’t matter; someone wanted her scared. Dein, obviously.

Reading more closely, it seemed like the writer blamed her for killing the slave trader who’d bought her, rather than anything to do with Dein’s crew. But that, Flum reasoned, had been totally justified. She’d clawed her self-worth back from his filthy grasp. She was building a new life with Milkit now. That inhuman sack of flesh, who had killed so many slaves, had deserved to die.

Alas, no matter how strong Flum was, she was still a sixteen-year-old girl. She couldn’t easily laugh off such a heinous accusation.

She squeezed the crumpled papers in her fist and bit down hard on her lip.