Anya and Riell returned to the orphanage once Rei departed with Jasper and the egg. They would have been out of place just standing there with nothing to do on the hazardous battlefield. There was no choice but to walk the rest of the way back since they didn't have Jasper's fire teleportation spell. After a series of unexpected happenings you would think they'd have a lot to discuss on the way back, but instead the air around them is masked by a heavy silence. Anya stares straight ahead, paying close attention to the road as though she's afraid she'll get lost. Riell finds her behavior perplexing. He wants to confront her about the mysterious orb she stole from the duke's broken crystal spear but for some reason he holds his tongue. His animal instincts keep sending warning signals, the danger hasn't passed yet.
"Welcome back children."
They meet Lady Oya at the front gate as soon as they arrive back at the orphanage. The old sage looks very tired but still tries to greet them as though nothing is wrong. At her feet lay the mangled corpses of fierce monsters, uprooted tree limbs, and earth spikes all over the parameter. It's clear there had been an intense battle here as well. Her church robes are covered in scary bloodstains, but Riell feels safer by the sight.
"We've returned ma."
"Oh Anya, my sweet child. I am so happy to see you are back. I didn't mean to upset you before. Please understand that I wasn't going to take away your locket, I only meant to look at it. I thought perhaps I could seal the evil within it with my magic." Lady Oya cares for them as though they are her own flesh and blood. She doesn't like this feeling of alienation from Anya. She hopes her sincere apology will mend the rift and get the wolf girl to trust her again.
"I know you meant well, I acted too rashly. Please forgive me ma." For her part Anya's response is very sweet to the ears. She appears to be very repentant, willing to put it all behind them but there is just something about it that seems off to Riell.
"What of the other children? Are they still in the evacuation shelter?" Not pleased by Anya's fake words of acceptance, he worriedly looks around for the rest of his adopted siblings. Thankfully, there are no small limbs on the ground so this means they must be safe.
"No, I sensed it when the Wyrm died and the monsters retreated. I brought them back soon after. They are inside." Lady Oya tries to calm his worries.
Riell immediately releases a sigh of relief, he's been so tense this entire time. Not one to delay, he rushes into the building, welcomed by the confused wails of his younger siblings. The little toddlers rush up to him in tears, scared out of their minds by the violence they never should have been forced to witness.
"It's okay now, the monster march is over. The duke won!"
"Waaah!"
He tries to pacify each one with a pat to the head and some hugs. His sharp eyes catch Anya's reaction as she steps into the church. She can't hide the flash of disgust in her eyes or scrunched expression fast enough. Even Ariellia didn't look this haughty when she visited the church. Anya's acting like a visitor in her own home, carefully avoiding the few toddlers that made it to her side like they're carrying the plague. Seeing her like this irks him very much, if the daughter of the duke who lives in a castle is willing to lower her standards to their level without being condescending, what excuse does Anya have to act this way?
Ever since they found her in the forest, she's been acting strange. The Anya he knows would have been the first person to give the kids a big group hug, snot tears, and all. That is just how much she cherishes her pack. Now she looks like she can't wait to be away from them, like the wealthy merchants who used to constantly label them as thieves for just existing. The sight of her false sincerity towards these naïve kids infuriates him, causing him to snap.
"If you have something to do you don't let us delay you!"
"Ah, big brother Riell is mad." The innocent kids don't understand, the younger ones don't know why he's angry with her.
But to his surprise Anya herself doesn't seem to mind, not hiding her wish to flee the scene at all. "Really, then I'll be in my room. I went through a rough ordeal in the forest, I think I need some rest. Please don't let anyone disturb me for an hour."
"Fine, I'll take the kids to the mass hall for dinner." He coaxes the children to stay clear of Anya, not sure if he wants them to be around her while she's acting so shady.
The door shuts tightly after she enters her room. Inside the humble tiny space, she makes a beeline for a small old vanity. She stares at her reflection on its dingy surface. It's odd how she keeps admiring herself like she's never seen the person staring back at her before. She slowly pulls down her high turtleneck, her fingers trembling as they trace the thin scar across her throat. Any healer worth their salt who saw this scar would say by all accounts she should be dead…yet here she is alive and breathing. Anya's shoulders begin to shake as uncontrollable laugh overcomes her.
"You stupid girl, I promise to take care of Rei so sleep well and don't ever think of coming back." There's a sinister smile playing at the corners of her rosy lips as she says this to her own reflection. The beauty in the mirror stares back with bloodshot eyes like a madwoman, viciously cursing and screaming back at her.
"What's the point of coming clean now. You want to tell Rei, be my guest. I wonder what he'll say when he finds out you helped his father's men to capture Ariellia. You saw how he burned those men to dust, do you think you'll be spared just because you're his friend? No, it'll be worse for a traitor like you who betrayed his trust." She's smiling so much the corners of her eyes are curved but there's no warmth to it. Her reflection in the mirror briefly distorted before snapping back to match reality.
"Gone already, such a coward…now how to make use of this awesome item?" She brings out the dark orb she stole from David's spear.
'Feed it to me! ...I'm so hungry! ...consume it…"
"Chill out for a minute sheesh. What kind of system are you?" She rolls her eyes but does as the 'system' commands, opening her mouth wider than humanly possible before swallowing the orb whole.
"Who are you and what have you done to my child!" Lady Oya barges into the room, alarmed by what she just saw with her magically enhanced senses.
"What a bummer, were you standing there this whole-time old lady? I thought I told him to keep everyone away for an hour. Hah, this is exactly why you can't trust men. Nothing but a bunch of spineless liars." Anya's demented rant isn't making any sense, but as she gets up from the aged vanity and slowly turns around, Lady Oya takes a step back. After consuming the orb, the evil aura that had slowly been seeping out of her aura exploded outward like a dark flame.
The horrifying sight in front of her suddenly made Oya remember a time many decades ago when she was much younger. She'd stumbled across an oracle who said she'd read her fate for free. She'd been too young and drunk to know any fear, so she rashly said yes, not caring about the rumors surrounding such readings.
"Your kindness will be your own undoing. You will die the day you see something you shouldn't. Be careful of the green-eyed wolf."
At the time she'd scoffed at the oracles' words, thinking she was a fraud. If not, how can a blind woman like her accidently witness something she shouldn't? She quickly cast aside the thought, and just like that, she forgot the oracle's warnings.
"The green-eyed wolf she meant, was you?" The old elf's face had belief written all over it.
"I don't know what you mean…but…I'm just so hungry…" Anya's shadow seems to grow beyond her as she steps closer, drool escaping her mouth as her teeth become unusually long and pointy. She grabs Lady Oya by her shoulders, her clawed nails digging deeply into the nun's clothes, puncturing the skin underneath. Oya tries to resist, to shake her off, but her brute strength seems to be multiplied by tenfold. Anya's mouth opens inhumanly wide like before and Oya feels her soul being sucked out. Silent tears stream down the old elf's face as she thinks of the children, of Clad, her beloved childhood friend. Who would take care of them once she's gone?
'I was careless.'