Chapter 63: Home Sweet Home
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Chapter 63: Home Sweet Home
As they made their way to the castle, Bee formulated a plan to explain the situation to Tony. He had gotten quiet after seeing the smaller girl’s little demonstration. Quiet enough that they just walked along in silence for the next 10 minutes or so. Eventually, he seemed to have processed his thoughts. "So what have I got myself into?"
"Well, I'm pretty sure I know why all of the other inhabitants of the castle ran away. And it wasn't because they were called somewhere else." Bee was struggling with how she was going to explain this part to Tony without him freaking out. She was sure that there was no real danger. But it was going to be hard to explain. And now that she had the possibility of help and company, she didn't want to give that up just yet.
"See, the mages were attempting some sort of big summoning ritual. And I wasn't really invited but I was still listening around the corner. Anyways I don't think the ritual went exactly how they were expecting. Because at some point, they caused a lot of noise, and I could hear them screaming something. I couldn't quite make out the words. Then I heard them running. At that point, I fell down some stairs." Bee was starting to worry that she was rambling a little bit. Also, the story wasn't making her look good.
"I hurt my leg, and I wasn't able to follow everyone, so I hid in the closet for a little bit." Yeah, this wasn't going very well, she thought to herself.
"And when I was better, there wasn't anyone left in the castle." Bee finished lamely. She didn't look at Tony for a few minutes. This explanation made her sound pathetic and weak. She got defeated by stairs and then just stayed behind, forgotten at the castle. It made it feel so useless. Tony was probably laughing at her right now. No wonder why they insisted that he come with her. She knew that wasn't the entire story, but the rest of it didn't make her sound much better, and she also would have to admit that she wasn't really alone in the castle. If she told him about Void, he might be too scared to continue.
Eventually, she risked a glance at Tony. Instead of the suppressed grin she expected to see on his face, he looked quite concerned. It was good that she didn't tell him anything about Void then, Bee thought to herself. He would only be more concerned then. She waited for him to collect his thoughts. Eventually, he spoke up, "So they all ran away and then didn't realize they left you behind?"
Bee kicked a rock and looked down at her feet as she muttered, "Pretty much, yeah."
"That was... incredibly irresponsible of them. I can't believe they would leave a little gi- A member of their college behind like that. Did they not do a head count or send someone to check or anything?" Tony sounded indignant and almost incredulous. Eventually, he took a long, slow breath. "That's horrible. I'm really sorry that happened to you."
Bee couldn't decide if that was better or worse than laughter. On the one hand, he wasn't laughing at her. On the other hand, it felt like pity she didn't really deserve. Sure the first few days had been rough, but honestly, she was happy with how things had turned out. If given the choice, there was no way she would trade her experience and levels for a chance to have left with the mages back then. She had learned actual magic. Also, she had leveled far beyond what was reasonable for anyone her age. Sure, she didn't have complete control over her own soul or destiny anymore, but it was really a small price to pay for power. Also, she felt like it was in good hands.
"Well, it didn't turn out so bad." Bee wasn't sure why she was so hesitant to share the details. She would at least need to tell him something about Void. He would find that out pretty soon anyways. "I got plenty of levels and made a friend."
Tony seemed confused. "A friend? I thought the mages left you alone in the castle?"
Bee felt like it was overly familiar to call her master her friend. Still, she had to admit it would be a little weird for her to tell Tony about Void before they met. It was pretty hard to believe that Void was all-powerful but still benevolent. So she stuck with the term “friend” for now, at least until he witnessed Void's true power. Still, it was good to introduce the idea sooner rather than later. Maybe? She still wasn’t sure. Who was she kidding? She didn't know what she was doing.
"Yeah, the mages left me. My friend isn't a mage. It's... not really human." Okay, this explanation didn't seem to be helping matters. If anything, Tony was only looking more and more concerned.
Tony's statement just kind of hung there as they entered the front gate of the castle walls. It didn't feel like there needed to be anything else said. The castle spoke for itself. The two of them followed the long path up to the building, climbed the steps, and crossed the little plateau before they finally reached the main doors. By that point, Tony seemed to have recovered most of himself.
In what was probably an attempt to be a gentleman, Tony darted ahead of Bee to open one of the main doors. He pulled at the handle and tugged. Then tugged again. Then tugged even harder, until he was pulling with both hands and his full strength. The door barely budged. After trying the same thing with the other handle, Tony stepped back and peered at Beatrice.. "Did you happen to lock the doors before you left?"
She smiled slightly. "No. There’s no keyhole either."
Tony scratched his head and sighed. "Well, I think someone barred the doors then. I don't see signs of anyone else around, though. Maybe someone else was in the castle after all? I could see two people being in here without even realizing the other existed. Or maybe it was your friend?"
Bee chuckled slightly at the mental image of Void barring the doors. "No, I don't think that my friend barred the doors."
She motioned for Tony to move aside and grasped the right door. She braced a foot on the left door and pulled with all her might. Opening the door from the inside was much easier than this. Normally she would have avoided closing it completely, but when leaving for this long, it hadn’t seemed like a very smart idea.
Slowly the door ground open, groaning. Once it cracked open, Tony reached out and helped her haul it the rest of the way.
---
I watched as the door slowly opened. The other human was helping Beatrice out. That was a good sign. When Beatrice came around the corner, I popped out my arm and waved to her, beeping excitedly. She gave me a wave back as her face broke into a grin. It was good to see her again. Behind her followed a larger human.
My initial good impression of him helping Beatrice open the door was quickly undone. I looked at his clothes, and they were filthy. Many of the creases were filled with more dirt than even the outside humans had managed to accumulate. Even worse, both his boots and the pant cuffs that hung over them were caked with mud. His hands were clean, but I could see some dirt on his elbow and above his left eyebrow.
How does someone even get so dirty? It was like he had been rolling around in the mud all morning. And how was Beatrice going to let this guy inside? He would track dirt everywhere!
As I sat there in shock, The human seemed to realize something. He looked at the sparkling floors ahead of him, then at his boots and took a step back outside. He took a moment, kicking his boots against each other and knocking some amount of the dirt off. Okay, that was nice of him. Well, I supposed that was progress, and it did raise my estimation of him a bit. Still, this was just one more human I had to educate about the wonders of cleanliness.
While the large human was doing that. Beatrice gave me a bow. "It's good to be home, master."
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Chapter 63: Home Sweet Home
As they made their way to the castle, Bee formulated a plan to explain the situation to Tony. He had gotten quiet after seeing the smaller girl’s little demonstration. Quiet enough that they just walked along in silence for the next 10 minutes or so. Eventually, he seemed to have processed his thoughts. "So what have I got myself into?"
"Well, I'm pretty sure I know why all of the other inhabitants of the castle ran away. And it wasn't because they were called somewhere else." Bee was struggling with how she was going to explain this part to Tony without him freaking out. She was sure that there was no real danger. But it was going to be hard to explain. And now that she had the possibility of help and company, she didn't want to give that up just yet.
"See, the mages were attempting some sort of big summoning ritual. And I wasn't really invited but I was still listening around the corner. Anyways I don't think the ritual went exactly how they were expecting. Because at some point, they caused a lot of noise, and I could hear them screaming something. I couldn't quite make out the words. Then I heard them running. At that point, I fell down some stairs." Bee was starting to worry that she was rambling a little bit. Also, the story wasn't making her look good.
"I hurt my leg, and I wasn't able to follow everyone, so I hid in the closet for a little bit." Yeah, this wasn't going very well, she thought to herself.
"And when I was better, there wasn't anyone left in the castle." Bee finished lamely. She didn't look at Tony for a few minutes. This explanation made her sound pathetic and weak. She got defeated by stairs and then just stayed behind, forgotten at the castle. It made it feel so useless. Tony was probably laughing at her right now. No wonder why they insisted that he come with her. She knew that wasn't the entire story, but the rest of it didn't make her sound much better, and she also would have to admit that she wasn't really alone in the castle. If she told him about Void, he might be too scared to continue.
Eventually, she risked a glance at Tony. Instead of the suppressed grin she expected to see on his face, he looked quite concerned. It was good that she didn't tell him anything about Void then, Bee thought to herself. He would only be more concerned then. She waited for him to collect his thoughts. Eventually, he spoke up, "So they all ran away and then didn't realize they left you behind?"
Bee kicked a rock and looked down at her feet as she muttered, "Pretty much, yeah."
"That was... incredibly irresponsible of them. I can't believe they would leave a little gi- A member of their college behind like that. Did they not do a head count or send someone to check or anything?" Tony sounded indignant and almost incredulous. Eventually, he took a long, slow breath. "That's horrible. I'm really sorry that happened to you."
Bee couldn't decide if that was better or worse than laughter. On the one hand, he wasn't laughing at her. On the other hand, it felt like pity she didn't really deserve. Sure the first few days had been rough, but honestly, she was happy with how things had turned out. If given the choice, there was no way she would trade her experience and levels for a chance to have left with the mages back then. She had learned actual magic. Also, she had leveled far beyond what was reasonable for anyone her age. Sure, she didn't have complete control over her own soul or destiny anymore, but it was really a small price to pay for power. Also, she felt like it was in good hands.
"Well, it didn't turn out so bad." Bee wasn't sure why she was so hesitant to share the details. She would at least need to tell him something about Void. He would find that out pretty soon anyways. "I got plenty of levels and made a friend."
Tony seemed confused. "A friend? I thought the mages left you alone in the castle?"
Bee felt like it was overly familiar to call her master her friend. Still, she had to admit it would be a little weird for her to tell Tony about Void before they met. It was pretty hard to believe that Void was all-powerful but still benevolent. So she stuck with the term “friend” for now, at least until he witnessed Void's true power. Still, it was good to introduce the idea sooner rather than later. Maybe? She still wasn’t sure. Who was she kidding? She didn't know what she was doing.
"Yeah, the mages left me. My friend isn't a mage. It's... not really human." Okay, this explanation didn't seem to be helping matters. If anything, Tony was only looking more and more concerned.
Tony's statement just kind of hung there as they entered the front gate of the castle walls. It didn't feel like there needed to be anything else said. The castle spoke for itself. The two of them followed the long path up to the building, climbed the steps, and crossed the little plateau before they finally reached the main doors. By that point, Tony seemed to have recovered most of himself.
In what was probably an attempt to be a gentleman, Tony darted ahead of Bee to open one of the main doors. He pulled at the handle and tugged. Then tugged again. Then tugged even harder, until he was pulling with both hands and his full strength. The door barely budged. After trying the same thing with the other handle, Tony stepped back and peered at Beatrice.. "Did you happen to lock the doors before you left?"
She smiled slightly. "No. There’s no keyhole either."
Tony scratched his head and sighed. "Well, I think someone barred the doors then. I don't see signs of anyone else around, though. Maybe someone else was in the castle after all? I could see two people being in here without even realizing the other existed. Or maybe it was your friend?"
Bee chuckled slightly at the mental image of Void barring the doors. "No, I don't think that my friend barred the doors."
She motioned for Tony to move aside and grasped the right door. She braced a foot on the left door and pulled with all her might. Opening the door from the inside was much easier than this. Normally she would have avoided closing it completely, but when leaving for this long, it hadn’t seemed like a very smart idea.
Slowly the door ground open, groaning. Once it cracked open, Tony reached out and helped her haul it the rest of the way.
---
I watched as the door slowly opened. The other human was helping Beatrice out. That was a good sign. When Beatrice came around the corner, I popped out my arm and waved to her, beeping excitedly. She gave me a wave back as her face broke into a grin. It was good to see her again. Behind her followed a larger human.
My initial good impression of him helping Beatrice open the door was quickly undone. I looked at his clothes, and they were filthy. Many of the creases were filled with more dirt than even the outside humans had managed to accumulate. Even worse, both his boots and the pant cuffs that hung over them were caked with mud. His hands were clean, but I could see some dirt on his elbow and above his left eyebrow.
How does someone even get so dirty? It was like he had been rolling around in the mud all morning. And how was Beatrice going to let this guy inside? He would track dirt everywhere!
As I sat there in shock, The human seemed to realize something. He looked at the sparkling floors ahead of him, then at his boots and took a step back outside. He took a moment, kicking his boots against each other and knocking some amount of the dirt off. Okay, that was nice of him. Well, I supposed that was progress, and it did raise my estimation of him a bit. Still, this was just one more human I had to educate about the wonders of cleanliness.
While the large human was doing that. Beatrice gave me a bow. "It's good to be home, master."
Chapter 63: Home Sweet HomeAs they made their way to the castle, Bee formulated a plan to explain the situation to Tony. He had gotten quiet after seeing the smaller girl's little demonstration. Quiet enough that they just walked along in silence for the next 10 minutes or so. Eventually, he seemed to have processed his thoughts. "So what have I got myself into?""Well, I'm pretty sure I know why all of the other inhabitants of the castle ran away. And it wasn't because they were called somewhere else." Bee was struggling with how she was going to explain this part to Tony without him freaking out. She was sure that there was no real danger. But it was going to be hard to explain. And now that she had the possibility of help and company, she didn't want to give that up just yet."See, the mages were attempting some sort of big summoning ritual. And I wasn't really invited but I was still listening around the corner. Anyways I don't think the ritual went exactly how they were expecting. Because at some point, they caused a lot of noise, and I could hear them screaming something. I couldn't quite make out the words. Then I heard them running. At that point, I fell down some stairs." Bee was starting to worry that she was rambling a little bit. Also, the story wasn't making her look good."I hurt my leg, and I wasn't able to follow everyone, so I hid in the closet for a little bit." Yeah, this wasn't going very well, she thought to herself. "And when I was better, there wasn't anyone left in the castle." Bee finished lamely. She didn't look at Tony for a few minutes. This explanation made her sound pathetic and weak. She got defeated by stairs and then just stayed behind, forgotten at the castle. It made it feel so useless. Tony was probably laughing at her right now. No wonder why they insisted that he come with her. She knew that wasn't the entire story, but the rest of it didn't make her sound much better, and she also would have to admit that she wasn't really alone in the castle. If she told him about Void, he might be too scared to continue.Eventually, she risked a glance at Tony. Instead of the suppressed grin she expected to see on his face, he looked quite concerned. It was good that she didn't tell him anything about Void then, Bee thought to herself. He would only be more concerned then. She waited for him to collect his thoughts. Eventually, he spoke up, "So they all ran away and then didn't realize they left you behind?"Bee kicked a rock and looked down at her feet as she muttered, "Pretty much, yeah.""That was... incredibly irresponsible of them. I can't believe they would leave a little gi- A member of their college behind like that. Did they not do a head count or send someone to check or anything?" Tony sounded indignant and almost incredulous. Eventually, he took a long, slow breath. "That's horrible. I'm really sorry that happened to you."Bee couldn't decide if that was better or worse than laughter. On the one hand, he wasn't laughing at her. On the other hand, it felt like pity she didn't really deserve. Sure the first few days had been rough, but honestly, she was happy with how things had turned out. If given the choice, there was no way she would trade her experience and levels for a chance to have left with the mages back then. She had learned actual magic. Also, she had leveled far beyond what was reasonable for anyone her age. Sure, she didn't have complete control over her own soul or destiny anymore, but it was really a small price to pay for power. Also, she felt like it was in good hands."Well, it didn't turn out so bad." Bee wasn't sure why she was so hesitant to share the details. She would at least need to tell him something about Void. He would find that out pretty soon anyways. "I got plenty of levels and made a friend."Tony seemed confused. "A friend? I thought the mages left you alone in the castle?"Bee felt like it was overly familiar to call her master her friend. Still, she had to admit it would be a little weird for her to tell Tony about Void before they met. It was pretty hard to believe that Void was all-powerful but still benevolent. So she stuck with the term friend for now, at least until he witnessed Void's true power. Still, it was good to introduce the idea sooner rather than later. Maybe? She still wasn't sure. Who was she kidding? She didn't know what she was doing."Yeah, the mages left me. My friend isn't a mage. It's... not really human." Okay, this explanation didn't seem to be helping matters. If anything, Tony was only looking more and more concerned. Tony's statement just kind of hung there as they entered the front gate of the castle walls. It didn't feel like there needed to be anything else said. The castle spoke for itself. The two of them followed the long path up to the building, climbed the steps, and crossed the little plateau before they finally reached the main doors. By that point, Tony seemed to have recovered most of himself.In what was probably an attempt to be a gentleman, Tony darted ahead of Bee to open one of the main doors. He pulled at the handle and tugged. Then tugged again. Then tugged even harder, until he was pulling with both hands and his full strength. The door barely budged. After trying the same thing with the other handle, Tony stepped back and peered at Beatrice.. "Did you happen to lock the doors before you left?"She smiled slightly. "No. There's no keyhole either."Tony scratched his head and sighed. "Well, I think someone barred the doors then. I don't see signs of anyone else around, though. Maybe someone else was in the castle after all? I could see two people being in here without even realizing the other existed. Or maybe it was your friend?"Bee chuckled slightly at the mental image of Void barring the doors. "No, I don't think that my friend barred the doors."She motioned for Tony to move aside and grasped the right door. She braced a foot on the left door and pulled with all her might. Opening the door from the inside was much easier than this. Normally she would have avoided closing it completely, but when leaving for this long, it hadn't seemed like a very smart idea.Slowly the door ground open, groaning. Once it cracked open, Tony reached out and helped her haul it the rest of the way.---I watched as the door slowly opened. The other human was helping Beatrice out. That was a good sign. When Beatrice came around the corner, I popped out my arm and waved to her, beeping excitedly. She gave me a wave back as her face broke into a grin. It was good to see her again. Behind her followed a larger human.My initial good impression of him helping Beatrice open the door was quickly undone. I looked at his clothes, and they were filthy. Many of the creases were filled with more dirt than even the outside humans had managed to accumulate. Even worse, both his boots and the pant cuffs that hung over them were caked with mud. His hands were clean, but I could see some dirt on his elbow and above his left eyebrow.How does someone even get so dirty? It was like he had been rolling around in the mud all morning. And how was Beatrice going to let this guy inside? He would track dirt everywhere!As I sat there in shock, The human seemed to realize something. He looked at the sparkling floors ahead of him, then at his boots and took a step back outside. He took a moment, kicking his boots against each other and knocking some amount of the dirt off. Okay, that was nice of him. Well, I supposed that was progress, and it did raise my estimation of him a bit. Still, this was just one more human I had to educate about the wonders of cleanliness. While the large human was doing that. Beatrice gave me a bow. "It's good to be home, master."
