Anachronistic: Endless Masquerade

11 | Answered Prayers

- 11 -

Lilith sat on the bed with her hands clasped in prayer, begging God to forgive her existence.

        I'll do anything. I'll devote my life in whatever way you see fit. I'll serve the church in Eden or I'll travel the lands spreading your gospel. Her eyes were shut tight but tears still pushed free to trickle down her cheeks. Even though I was born this way I'll make it up to you somehow. Just tell me what you wish of me; anything.

        Lilith opened her eyes and turned her gaze to the ceiling; looking past it as if to the sky beyond. Please, deliver me safely from these hunters. She pulled her hands apart and whispered the end of her prayer. "If it is your will, give unto me a sign."

        A jingling pulled Lilith's attention to the door at her left. Lilith held her breath as the lock on the door spun. Light from the hall burst through the dark cabin. At its center, a twin-headed beast in a shadow's form. The creature was roughly human in shape, but with a wolf's head protruding from the side of the neck.

        "Why is it dark in here?"

        The pounding of Lilith's heart slowed as she recognized the voice. The outline of a pointed hat atop the head confirmed the identity. The person at her door wasn't some monster, it was Pandora. but that brought more questions that set her heart racing again.

        Why is she here? Could Pandora have discovered she was a youkai already? But it had only been a few hours. But a barbed thought coiled around her mind. God had answered her prayer. Not just with a no, but an execution.

        Except Pandora didn't have the look of someone on the hunt. No weapon drawn and no urgency in her movements. Lilith took a deep breath and dawned her smile like a mask. Her voice would be rough after crying but she would hide it best she was able. "I couldn't find any candles." She added a little laugh at the end that came across as fake even to her ears.

        "Candles?"

        Pandora was an impenetrable shadow, save for her edges where the light feathered around her. Lilith couldn't read her expression. Her only hope was to keep smiling and pray she was convincing.

        "Oh right, you weren't well off. It makes sense that you wouldn't be used to electric lights."

        Lilith felt idiotic. Even though there were none in Coventry, she knew what electric lights were; she had read about them. If she had been paying the barest of attention she would have noticed them shining bright in the hallways. Her mind had reason to be elsewhere, but she hadn't even considered that the sun couldn't shine through solid steel.

        With a click, light brought the cabin into sharp relief. A small room with none of its modest space wasted. A single four-post bed took up the majority of the room; a thin u shape around its edge marked the entirety of the floor space. Pandora took a single step inside; the only step. A second would have seen her crawling into the bed atop Lilith.

        "Oh, you've been crying. I'm sorry, I came at a bad time."

        Lilith brought a hand to her face. Moisture still pooled at the corners of her eyes so she wiped it away. She needed to do a better job of hiding her true feelings away. She turned to Pandora with her smile reapplied and asked "What are you doing here?"

        Lilith followed Pandora's eye to the door. It swung deep enough into the room to strike against the bedside table. Pandora pressed her foot against its base and pulled her key from the lock, letting it dangle from her finger. "I guess you didn't notice. Rooms were assigned by ticket."