The Third Song

It had taken some effort, but she’d managed to secure the deal with that eccentric heiress for the imperfect gemstones the other stores couldn’t sell. Thankfully, the newest clan member had been instrumental in helping her navigate the terms, and things would proceed smoothly from there. She was reasonably confident that things would work out and the shop would grow even more successful from there. 

But she noticed that she was burning through groceries a little more often, not that it was Otto’s fault, or her King’s fault. She was the one who made the decision to make sure he was eating well, and of course, Otto staying in one of the spare rooms meant he was welcome to meals she made as well. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to have more on hand. Though she’d found herself buying some instant noodles as well, even after the crepe incident. 

She’d also splurged a little and bought a box of fried chicken, reasoning it’d make a good dinner, since tonight she felt like a little treat was deserved after the talks had gone well. On her way home now, with her bags in tow, she paused when she saw the woman laying in the middle of the road. Concern immediately over took confusion, and she rushed over, shifting slightly to set the bags down as she knelt by the woman’s side. 

Gently, Shizuku gave her shoulder a shake. She didn’t see any wounds or anything that suggested the woman might have been hurt, but one couldn’t be too careful. Strangely enough, she found herself reminded of the boy with the strange power to come back to life… Really, she just got herself into all sorts of strange situations, didn’t she?

“Miss? Are you alright?” she called. “If you’re hurt somewhere, I can heal you, probably..” Providing it wasn’t too life-threatening, at least.

“Mnh..” Came the woman’s languid reply as she was shook. The one doing the shaking was being considerate enough to do it gently, but Three’s bare shoulder scraped into the concrete as tiny bits of debris embedded into her flesh each time her body was rocked into the asphalt. It was uncomfortable but she did not chastise the rocker for her rough treatment. 

One might have expected for Three to slowly and lazily open her eyes but they snapped open instead, a response that most ordinarily would have jarred someone. Her purple eyes were wide and her gaze sharp but it was for a fleeting moment. The woman blinked, her expression fatigued as she pulled herself slowly into a sitting position. While Three registered the other woman’s words she regarded her silently as she let out a long, drawn out yawn.

“My stomach is a desert..” She remarked, her tone as slow and sleepy as ever. Her gloved fingers gingerly slid over the bare flesh of her exposed shoulder which disturbed the debris embedded within her pale skin and they fell like water droplets, quickly and soundlessly to the ground. The woman slowly massaged the indentations as she looked at the woman before her, a smell emanating from her that wiggled her nose as she sniffed at the air. 

Empty. Utterly empty. If only Kingship granted one the ability to go without food then she would never feed. Unfortunately, the rumbling in her stomach gnawed at her, sapping her of all strength and making the already lazy woman less energetic. 

“Empty.” She repeated aloud, her slow and listless voice thoughtful. The only thing contained within her kitchen was a salt shaker filled partway which she lifted over her open mouth and shook, the tiny white specks raining down onto her outstretched tongue. If only this were enough. Wasn’t her attendant responsible for restocking the food? Though now that she thought of it she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him in quite some time. It was just as well. He had been beginning to bore her. 

With her torso bent over her waist, her hands just low enough to touch the ground if she bothered to put anymore strength into it, she sauntered lazily out of her forest dwelling and into the city. Three did not make it a point to venture out often. It cut into her precious time. Time that was better spent sleeping or experimenting. But one could not experiment on an empty stomach, she lamented as she dragged her feet through the town.

This was as far as she could go. Her stomach was nibbling away at her insides and she had spent every last ounce of energy to make it this far. “Ah.. The sweet mirage of sleep beckons.. In sleep.. All is nothing... In sleep.. All is reduced to zero..” Even the gnawing pain of hunger could not find her in that restful world.