Finding The Missing Heiress

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 34, Post Number 836

-Outside Haunted Castle, midnight-

Wearing her usual casual outfit of purple t-shirt, black skirt, white thigh-high stockings, and black tennis shoes, Diana carried both a backpack of supplies and Saint Sinner Valentine slung over her right shoulder. She was standing less than six meters outside of Haunted Castle, a place she had been to many times before. It had been less than two days ago that she had come here with Stella Herschel on a job for Simon Wright and now she was already back for another job. This time she was looking for a young woman named Juliet Fontaine.

According to Juliet's mother Judith, Juliet had went missing less than four days ago. The young woman had apparently grown bored of the life of a wealthy heiress and wanted to go out on an adventure beyond the confines of Capital Crocus, so she took a silver sword from the family armory and chose to go to Haunted Castle. Unfortunately for her mother Juliet had chosen one of the worst possible places in Fiore to visit. Now it was up to Diana to save the young woman before it was too late, then take her back to Capital Crocus.

Diana felt the wind blow her hair about and looked at the wooden double doors that led into Haunted Castle. She recalled how uneventful the job with Stella was until it came time to leave the castle. On the way out the pair spotted a strange man wearing a black three-piece tuxedo who kept his distance from them and appeared to watch their every move. Diana wondered who the mystery man was and what connection he had to Haunted Castle. She was somewhat interested in solving the mystery, but she was much more interested in finding Juliet Fontaine and taking her back to Capital Crocus.

Before setting out for Haunted Castle Diana had asked Judith Fontaine if there was anything she needed to know about Juliet and learned a couple of things. First, the young woman liked to read about the supernatural in her abundant spare time, suggesting that she had entered the castle with some knowledge of what she was likely to face. Second, Juliet had grabbed a silver sword that had belonged to one of her aunts, suggesting that she had the training to effectively employ said weapon against whatever she encountered in the castle. Those two things meant that Diana was likely not dealing with a helpless damsel in distress but someone who had some idea of what they were getting into.

However, Haunted Castle was no place for amateurs.

With little time left to lose Diana walked up to the double doors and opened the right one, then stepped inside Haunted Castle.

-Inside Haunted Castle, the first floor-

Diana closed the door behind her and faced forward. The foyer was still lit by beautiful brass chandeliers and the light still danced off of beautiful oil paintings. Beneath her feet was the same beautiful red carpet that had been under her feet the last few times she had been here. The huntress raised her right hand to prepare a spell and looked around for a welcoming committee but did not see anything. Not entirely convinced that she was alone, Diana cycled through her vision modes and looked around using night vision, infrared vision, and spirit vision.

Nothing appeared to her in any of those modes, so Diana knew that she was in the clear... at least on this floor, anyway. Diana proceeded down the right hallway towards the staircase that would take her to the second floor. She ignored the paintings hanging from the walls and kept walking until she reached the staircase, where she paused and looked around her to make sure that she was not being followed by zombies, ghosts, or the well-dressed mystery man she and Stella had seen on their previous trip here.

Diana looked down the hall to her left and did not see anything. She looked to the right and did not see anything there either. She even checked behind her and nothing was there, so she had reason to believe that she was safe from harm. Diana turned to face the stairs and began to climb them slowly and carefully so that if something was waiting for her upstairs she would have enough time to react to it.

-On the second floor-

Diana arrived on the second floor without incident and paused to look around her for danger. She looked left and right and did not see any danger, so she cycled through her vision modes just like she had done on the first floor. Nothing had come up on any of them, so once again Diana was in the clear for the time being.

Diana had just started walking forward when she heard a CRUNCH sound from beneath her right foot. The huntress took a step back and looked down to find a silver necklace of some sort. She bent down and scooped it up with her left hand, then raised it to her chest to take a closer look at it.

The necklace was a silver necklace to which was attached a small circular pendant. In the middle of the pendant was embedded a topaz crafted in the shape of a teardrop that gleamed in the light. Diana surmised that the necklace belonged to Juliet Fontaine, but she would not know for certain until she found the young woman.

[Post Word Count: 910]
[Total Word Count: 910/11,000]

Having satisfied her curiosity concerning the necklace, Diana hung onto the piece of jewelry so that she would be able to return it to Juliet Fontaine once she found the young woman. She carefully put it on her own neck and looked around for anything that might have tried to sneak up on her while she was busy looking at the necklace. She cycled between her three special vision modes and did not see anything, but moments before she started to walk she paused when she saw a pale blue image in the hallway ahead of her. It was a male ghost wearing attire suitable for a butler and it flickered into a more visible form.

Diana silently raised her right hand and prepared a Spirit Drain Beam, then fired it once the spell was ready. The Spirit Drain Beam hit the ghost in the torso, causing it to scream and disappear into the ether. In hindsight that was not the best idea because anything within earshot would be alerted to her presence, but it was too late to worry about it now. Diana stayed where she was and looked around for more enemies to send to the great beyond. After a few minutes of waiting none presented themselves, so the huntress figured that it was time to move on.

Diana walked forward down the hallway that led to the stairs and did her best to ignore the paintings on this floor, which had an aging and death theme to them. Diana walked past them but had to struggle not to stop and admire the paintings because despite their subject matter they were as masterfully painted as the paintings on the first floor. Diana reached the end of the hallway without encountering any more enemies and faced the stairs, then slowly and carefully walked up them.

-On the third floor, the dining hall-

Diana walked up the stairs and reached the large dining hall she had visited with Stella during their job less than three days ago. Everything was exactly as it was when the two had been here down to the number of plates on the table. So far no one else had stolen any more silver plates from the table. However, she noticed that the chair at the far end of the table closest to the double doors in the back of the hall had been moved like someone had been sitting in it until recently.

Diana immediately began looking around her for the person who might have been sitting in it. She cycled through all three vision modes and looked all around the dining hall for anything that might have been concealed from plain sight, but she was unable to see anything. Suddenly Diana felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up and had a sneaking suspicion that someone or something was standing behind her. The huntress spun around to face the entity.

Nothing.

Diana knew that something had been behind her, but she did not know where it had went to. Diana recalled the mysterious man she had seen on her way out of the castle last time and she had reason to suspect that he was the one making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. However, Diana did not have much evidence to go on other than a hunch. Her thoughts were interrupted by the double doors bursting open.

Diana spun around to see a blonde-haired young woman dressed in black and wielding a silver sword running towards her. The huntress raised her right hand to cast a spell and was going to use another special vision mode to determine whether she was facing a human or a vampire when the young woman reached sword range and swiped at Diana with a left-to-right horizontal slash.

The huntress ducked under the sword swing and jumped back three times to put some distance between her and the mystery woman.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU FILTHY VAMPIRE!" The young woman screamed. She charged at Diana and performed a lunging stab aimed directly at the huntress' heart. Diana spun around the lunge and to the right, then stopped and performed a Reaper's Sprint to put some more distance between the angry young woman. The latter quickly recovered from the missed lunge and spun to face Diana.

"I'M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU!" She shouted angrily. Diana tried to think of some way to defuse the situation and quickly decided to try speaking to her attacker.

"Are you Juliet Fontaine?" Diana asked the stranger. The other blonde hesitated for a moment.

"Yes. Why?" She asked warily.

"Your mother Judith Fontaine sent me to rescue you." Diana replied calmly. The mention of that name seemed to make the other blonde relax for a moment... until she frowned.

"I don't know if you're a vampire or not. I don't trust you. You're a total stranger and you know both my name and my mother's name." Juliet said warily.

"If you think I am a vampire, try touching me with the flat part of your silver sword." Diana suggested. She was not sure if vampires were vulnerable to silver, but at this point it was worth a shot. She did not want to have to fight Juliet if she could avoid it.

"I should cut your head off just to be safe, but since you didn't attack me yet I'm willing to try things your way. If you're a vampire you should react negatively to my sword when it touches you." Juliet said. She approached the huntress and placed the flat part of her silver sword against Diana's right arm. Diana did not burn or react to it in any way other than feeling slightly cold because the metal was cold.

"Hmm... maybe you're not a vampire after all." Juliet mused. Diana refrained from making any sarcastic remarks and remained silent. Juliet walked around her until she paused. The young woman's blue eyes drifted to the necklace around Diana's neck.

"Where did you get that necklace?!" Juliet asked harshly.

"I found it on the second floor near the stairs." Diana replied calmly. Juliet stomped towards Diana and raised her sword towards the huntress' throat.

"GIVE ME THE NECKLACE! GIVE IT HERE!" Juliet demanded, holding out her left hand while keeping the tip of the sword at Diana's throat.

[Post Word Count: 1,060]
[Total Word Count: 1,970/11,000]

"GIVE ME MY NECKLACE! I WON'T TELL YOU AGAIN!" Juliet demanded the necklace that was currently around Diana's neck.

"Very well then." Diana replied calmly. Confronted with the possibility of literally losing her head or having her throat cut over a silver necklace, Diana slowly moved her hands to the back of her neck to take off the necklace and watched Juliet closely. Diana put her fingers on the back of the necklace and carefully moved it up until it was over her head. She then moved her hands in front of her and held out the necklace with her right hand. Juliet snatched it with her left hand.

"THAT'S MINE!" Juliet shouted. Diana remained quiet as the other blonde pulled the sword away from Diana's throat and put the necklace on. Despite having gotten what she wanted without a fight Juliet's facial expression showed that she still did not trust the huntress. Feeling that an explanation was in order, the huntress spoke.

"I found it on the floor of the second floor. I was not aware of its significance until we met." Diana calmly repeated the explanation of how the necklace came into her possession. If Juliet was looking for a fight, she was not going to get one from Diana. Juliet looked at Diana with a glare for a few seconds and raised the sword like she was considering killing Diana just to be safe, then lowered the sword and changed her facial expression from an angry glare to a look of exhaustion.

"I'm glad you found the necklace, Diana. And I'm sorry for being rude. I'm in way over my head here and I'm really stressed out." Juliet apologized to Diana for the rude behavior and admitted that she was not doing so well. Diana decided to let bygones be bygones for the sake of the job and spoke to Juliet.

"Your mother Judith Fontaine sent me to rescue you." Diana stated her purpose for being here. Juliet frowned. That was not the reaction Diana was expecting, but she kept her opinion to herself.

"Great. I bet she's more worried about the necklace I'm wearing than about me." Juliet said in obvious anger.

"I'm sure that she's going to be all smiles when we get home, but the moment you leave she's gonna tear me apart behind closed doors." Juliet explained why she was so unhappy to Diana. Juliet was clearly expecting to be harshly reprimanded for her trip to Haunted Castle and it sounded like the other blonde was speaking from experience. Diana remained silent and listened while watching for danger. She cycled through her vision modes and did not see anything dangerous lurking nearby, so she focused again on Juliet as the latter talked.

"I know what I did was dumb, but I'm tired of living in a gilded cage all day every day. My aunt Juliette was an adventurer and she traveled all over Fiore when she was my age. My mother could have traveled with Aunt Juliette, but Judith was the classic homebody who didn't travel beyond her front door if she could get out of it." Juliet explained why she had come here and expressed disdain for her mother. Diana knew plenty about living in a gilded cage... her home had been one for roughly eighteen years. However, the cage stopped being gilded when she got her magic at ten years old and became a plain cage instead. While the "cage" was not a literal one, staying in her room to avoid abuse at the hands of her mother Elizabeth, her older sister Melody, and her older brother Lucius effectively made Diana's room a cage.

"Anyway, you didn't come out to this awful place to hear me gripe about my mother and how she's more worried about jewelry than her own daughter. You came here to rescue me and take me back to Capital Crocus." Juliet said. She motioned towards the stairwell with her sword.

"I'm more than ready to go back to Capital Crocus even if it means getting a long-winded lecture on how a proper lady behaves, but before we get going there's something I need to tell you." Juliet informed Diana. The huntress made eye contact with the other blonde.

"I am listening." Diana stated. Juliet looked around them for a moment before making eye contact again.

"I know that this is gonna sound crazy, but there's this really weird guy who keeps appearing throughout the castle in my peripheral vision. I'm not even sure if I'm really seeing him or if I'm just seeing things, but he's tall and wears a black tuxedo. He doesn't attack me and he doesn't try to speak to me. He just stays far away and watches me." Juliet told Diana about the strange man she had seen earlier. Diana knew from experience exactly who she was talking about.

"I know of the person you are talking about." Diana replied calmly. Juliet's face showed surprise.

"So you don't think I'm seeing things?" Juliet asked Diana, clearly eager for someone to believe her. Diana shook her head.

"I have encountered the entity before. His appearance and behavior match the description you gave me." Diana replied calmly. Juliet breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you!" Juliet exclaimed after receiving the validation she wanted. Diana remained silent and waited for Juliet to make the next move or to resume talking.

[Post Word Count: 904]
[Total Word Count: 2,874/11,000]

"I'd like to get out of here now, Diana. I've had enough adventure for one day. Or night. Whatever time it is." Juliet said to Diana. It was pretty clear that she was through talking and that she wanted to get out of this place before the odd man she had spoken of appeared. Diana was happy to oblige.

"Certainly." Diana replied. She motioned towards the stairway with her left hand.

"You first." Juliet insisted. Diana sensed that there was still some distrust on the heiress' part, so she did not waste time arguing.

"Certainly." Diana said without complaint. She began walking towards the stairwell while Juliet followed behind her. It was easier to do this than it was to waste time arguing why Juliet should trust her to watch their backs.

-On the second floor-

Diana walked down the stairs first and waited for Juliet to come down. While the huntress waited she looked around for any threats that might have appeared since she had last passed through here. Diana cycled through all three vision modes and did not spot anything dangerous, so she looked forward until Juliet reached the bottom of the stairs.

"There is nothing here. So far, so good." Diana reported to Juliet.

"Maybe. Let's keep going." Juliet replied curtly with a couple of waves of the tip of her sword towards the staircase down the hall to the left. Diana did as she was "suggested" to do and began walking first. Diana looked around her while Juliet followed several steps behind and made sure that nothing could threaten them on their way out. She paid close attention for signs of that well-dressed man but did not see him either.

Diana walked until she reached the staircase, where she waited for the heiress to catch up. Once Juliet arrived Diana went down the stairs first without being prompted and took several steps before Juliet followed. The two blondes were now just one floor away from the exit.

-The first floor-

Diana went down the stairs first and looked around them for anything that might be waiting on them on the first floor. She cycled through her vision modes and looked all around her, but she did not see anything that could be a threat to them. She waited for Juliet to reach the bottom of the stairs before she even thought of heading towards the double doors down the hall.

"Well, we made it to the first floor. No sign of that weird guy so far." Juliet said with a more pleasant tone than the one she had used on the second floor. She walked by Diana and the huntress followed close behind. There was only a short distance to go before they would be able to leave this place.

Diana walked down the hallway while glancing behind them every few seconds while Juliet moved straight ahead for the doors without stopping for anything or anyone. By the time Diana could reach the halfway point of the hallway Juliet was already at the double doors trying to open them. The huntress calmly walked towards her and waited for the heiress to open the doors. Juliet fumbled with the doorknob for a few seconds, then opened the door.

"Let's get out of here!" Juliet said to no one in particular, walking through the door while Diana followed close behind. Diana shut the door behind them and hurried to join Juliet, who was walking for Capital Crocus as fast as her legs could carry her.

-Outside Haunted Castle-

Diana had just closed the doors when she saw Juliet disappear further down the trail. The huntress knew that the heiress was not going to stop for anyone or anything, so Diana hurried to catch up with Juliet before the latter got too far away. Diana was not worried about herself. Rather, she was worried for Juliet, who was so eager to get out of this area that she was moving as fast as she could go instead of staying with someone who could protect her if trouble came along.

Before she got out of view of the castle Diana felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She turned to face the castle and saw the well-dressed man she had seen that night with Stella looking at her while standing on the front doorstep. He did not make any effort to chase Diana or attack her... he just stood there looking at her.

Diana turned around and jogged down the path to try and catch up with Juliet. It was a long road to Capital Crocus and there was no telling what they would encounter. Diana soon caught up with Juliet and together the two began the long walk to Capital Crocus. Maybe it would not be too late when the pair finally got back to the city.

[Post Word Count: 812]
[Total Word Count: 3,686/11,000]