Alice’s apprehension of having a potential bodyguard was rather quick to vanish as she approached a house that looked as if several people had attempted to build it at the same time. The first one to get their hands on the thing had clearly been aiming for a prison, and at some point the designs were torn out of the architects’ hands and given at someone trying to make a mansion. Only to have had the designs stolen by some sort of lunatic that decided the only thing missing was to put a chunk of metal on top like some sort of birthday hat.

The building was a special kind of ugly, the sort that tried to pretend it was actually pretty but that lacked the proper amount of makeup to be able to pull off such a miracle. The torrential rain certainly wasn’t helping make it look any less unsettling.

Four stories high, it was the tallest structure in the village. The first two floors were thick with cement, stone slabs slapped outside walls as if to hastily try to hide the aberration of dark gray concrete. Each window was locked tight behind a heavy metal shutter that had been polished to the point it could almost pretend to be chrome. The next two floors had large ornate windows, littering the heavy dark orange brick walls. And lastly… the roof. It was a metal tower of some sort. Four tilted metal columns that joined at the tip of a very stretched out pyramid that was twice as tall as the building itself.

Alice noticed that at the very cusp of the metal tower there were two winged creatures perched upon its metallic structure, almost undoubtedly maidens, though the storm made it hard to recognize more than the silhouette of their figures. “What is that?”

“The radio tower.” Her guide and bodyguard called out. “The Hunters can use it from that building over there too, it’s how we send reports and stuff.” She’d pointed to a structure not too far off.

Nodding numbly, Alice followed through the empty street towards the ugly mansion’s main entrance. Two heavy looking pieces of metal that swung open upon their approach. Two maidens at either side struggled to push them out of the way. These women wore gray outfits, uniforms that had short skirts and shorter sleeves, they showed far more flesh than should have been professional. A mockery that bordered in fetish gear, Alice would not have found it odd if any of the four women there had claimed they’d just recently finished a lingerie photo-shoot.

She couldn’t help but notice their collars were a celestial baby blue.

“We’ll take it from here.” One of them called out, Alice’s guide gave a lazy salute.

“Wait.” Alice called out quickly, reaching out to grasp her guide’s wrist. “Would it be ok if she stayed with me?”

The question appeared to startle all five maidens. Glances were exchanged, a quiet conversation being shared amongst themselves that Alice was not entirely privy to, but she could guess the general content. They were trying to figure out under whose authority it was to decide such a thing.

And she wasn’t going to let the choice slip into hesitation.

“I don’t expect to be long, and as the Baron’s guest today, I would feel more comfortable if my guide… Erm…”

“Stella.”

“Stella, stayed around. She’s the only familiar face I’ve got here after all.”

That appeared to tilt the balance in her favor, the four nodded. “Of course, ma’am.”

Stella looked all the stiffer, and Alice would make sure to apologize to her afterwards for the inconvenience.

But she was most certainly not going to enter the Baron’s place alone when the people greeting the door were dressed so clearly provocatively. There was something deeply wrong about it.

The four guards cleared the path, allowing them to enter. Inside another blue-collared gray-uniformed maiden was waiting for them. This one had short blue hair. “The coat, ma’am?”

Alice didn’t make much comment, taking the purple enchanted garment off and handing it over. The maiden proceeded to guide them through a dreadfully oppressive gray corridor that immediately led to a brightly lit marble entrance. Alice’s eyes widened as she had too many things to take in at once. The gold plated railings in the stairs that led up to the second floor, the silver on the mirror half that led downstairs, the almost clinical white that painted the walls and ceiling, the checkerboard stone floor, the glass chandelier with light-bulbs that could be nothing else but LEDs. The shine was too white, too intense, too pure.

The phantom weight of the cloak she’d been wearing not five minutes ago spoke of a different possibility. Enchanting? Magic? That weird power the maidens possessed? Her mind had started to stray, but she quickly brought it back in line.

She’d come here for a reason.

Thus her eyes fell onto the void of where the host was not. “And the Baron?”

“Will be here briefly, ma’am.” The… maid? Spoke with a low bow. “Your arrival was most urgent, we were caught a bit unprepared.” A slight gesture of her hand led them to follow into a small green room. The walls were not painted but covered by glossy cloth of some sort, it looked like silk. Gold was weaved into the pattern, giving the walls of the windowless room the impression of looking at the outline of a mountainous scenery. Within the room there was a grand total of two couches, one leather, one made from the same materials as the wall though in a slightly darker coloration. Between the two a small coffee-table.

“The Lord of the manor will be here shortly.”

And the door closed behind them. Alice looked at Stella, the maiden standing firm and avoiding eye-contact. “You don’t need to be so tense.”

“I… disagree, ma’am, I don’t think the Baron will be happy to see me here. Hunters aren’t permitted within a noble’s abode without a serious enough reason.”

The young teacher had been about make a choice comment or two about that, but understood all too well that this could mean the poor maiden was about to get into hot waters. “I understand, I’m sorry about that. If it’s necessary, I’ll talk to whoever might disagree with your presence. I was the one who insisted after all.”

The maiden appeared to want to say something but stopped, just giving a curt nod and moving to the corner. She stood at attention there, becoming quiet and leaving Alice to her own thoughts. A rather not amusing prospect if she were honest, but probably better than what was going to happen once the Baron showed up.

The door swung open, and the Baron stepped in before Alice had even managed to find a comfortable position on the couch. “Miss Smith, a pleasure to see you.”

This close to the man, Alice noticed he was plumper than she’d originally thought. He was tall, a little over two meters, far more than she was used to, but there was a slight roundness to his pale cheeks in his otherwise vertically elongated face. On his left hand there was a bottle of wine, two empty glasses held lofty in his fingers. His empty right hand was outstretched into an attempt at a friendly shake.

His face was beaming with a wide smile, his eyes looking at her as if she were a lamb and he the wolf.

Her thoughts focused on a singular clear memory, the spider, the mud, the rain.

This should be a cake-walk compared to that nightmare.

“Yes, well, I had some important matters of my own I wished to discuss, sir.”

Seeing the offered hand, she took it, making sure to give as firm a shake as she could. Even then, she also made very very sure to keep herself almost a good step away, the last thing she wanted was actual physical proximity to the man.

Her proclamation and stiffness didn’t make his smile falter any. “Ah, indeed? And what business would you have? It would be my pleasure to help however I can.” His right hand moved to remove the empty glasses to put them on the table.

Alice hesitated for a heartbeat. “It’s about Monica, the… Tigress. You see, my friend Rick-.”

CRACK

Alice almost jumped back as the bottle of wine in the Baron’s hand exploded into a rain of shards and red rain. The vibrantly colored liquid splattered against the light green carpet, the stain spreading like oil. The Baron’s face had gone from friendly to a tight plastic semblance of a smile. Any hint of friendliness was gone, the eyes behind the mask seethed as they bore into Alice with an intensity that made her step away.

“So there is indeed a man named ‘Rick’.”

A growl escaped the Baron, fists clenching as the shattered pieces of the bottle fell on the carpet.

“Sir? You’re bleeding.”

The voice came from the corner, and the Baron jolted, looking over his shoulder at the green-uniformed maiden there as if only noticing her now. The maiden herself was looking straight ahead, pale as a sheet.

“You… must excuse me.” The anger was gone instantly, the man turned back to look at Alice. The anger was gone, the saddened expression almost looked apologetic. Almost. “It seems I have made a mess of things.” A chuckle left him as he looked down at himself, his clothes drenched in wine. “They don’t make bottles like they used to, very fragile.”

“Y…yes…” Alice nodded, hand clenched tightly into a fist, eyes flickering towards the door, the only way out.

“I… will have to clean myself.” The Baron now laughed, opening his hands and allowing a trickle of shattered glass to fall, his palm was bloody. “And receive some healing.” A long pause, his gaze losing focus for a moment. “I don’t think I feel all that well. My wife will be here to provide some company shortly.”

The man turned around, not uttering another word, walking out the room and closing the door behind him. Alice’s eyes fell down to the shattered bottle, and its thick curve, a shudder ran through her as she turned to glance at Stella.

The maiden that stood on the corner was pale, wide eyed and very slowly shaking her head, not daring to even move an inch.