The Trial's Remenants

VII

 

"Mama! Papa!" An excited Azazel yelled, speeding through the interconnecting limestone caves of her sect.

She passed by a couple of servants, and before they could bow to her, she was already ahead of them by a few feet. When she came across a large, intricately carved door, she skidded to a pause, and ebony hair smacked her face ungraciously. She huffed, and parted the messed up hair, a smudged hibiscus huadian appearing in the middle of her forehead.

She knocked on the doors once, then twice, before getting impatient and simply pushing them open. When the door opened, she saw her mother laying asleep on her parents' bed, her father hunched over his desk overseeing some papers.

She skipped over to him, a wide smile on display.

"Papa, papa!" She whisper-yelled, voice enthusiastic. Her father signed something off quickly, and turned to face her with a gentle smile on his face.

"Hm? Need something, little rose?" He asked, picking her up and walking out of the room, as to not awake her mother.

"Yes! I met a pretty lady in the forest, papa!" She told him, "She had pretty white hair! And, and, blue eyes! Very blue eyes, papa!"

Her father smiled at her, "Well, it is good to see that you made a new friend."

"For now!" Azazel boldly said, "I want to marry her! And papa, I want to become a big, big snake, like you!"

Her father looked quite shocked for a few minutes, staring at her blankly before letting out a small laugh.

"Really? Should I call you 'warrior' now?" He teasingly said, his emerald eyes glinting with mirth. "And you want to marry this lady you befriended?"

"Yes!" She confirmed, to both questions.

Her father still looked amused, but now a little perplexed.

"Why this lady, though? I thought you said you hate, and I quote your words, 'disgusting kisses and marriage'," He reminded her.

Azazel thought about it for a second, and answered, "Yes, but this lady is very good with animals, and is also very, very kind and beautiful! I want her to become my.. My.." She trailed off, forgetting the word.

Her father lifted an eyebrow up. "Did you mean wife?"

"Yes, that!" She excitedly nodded, "She said yes!"

Well, not exactly, but she did say she wanted to be protected, and the best way to do so is by marrying her!

"Is that so?" Her father contemplated it for a second, "What's her name, then?"

Azazel scratched her head. "I.. Don't know. She didn't say! But she did say her future title would be something mantis!"

"Why mantis, though?"

"Because they are beautiful, she said so." Azazel ruminated for a bit, before adding on, "Papa, how do you court someone?"

"Well, you gift them gifts, and if they accept them, they accept you," And then, her father smiled conspiringly, "Can you describe her more for me? So that I could give you some suggestions, and the coins to get them."

She smiled a smile identical to that of her father's. "Uh, well, she wears plain purple robes! And her hair is always indecently let down! Papa, can I get her new hairpins?"

He hummed thoughtfully, "Yes, of course, little rose. What hairpin do you think suits her?"

"A.. A blue orchid! A hairpin shaped and coloured like a blue orchid!" She spontaneously stated, and her father looked slightly surprised by the specific flower.