The World in Dissonance (Volume 1)

Between the lines

Between the lines

The mansion of the Liddel family was cleaned perfectly as the little girl called Laurencia finished all her chores. All the piles of books that were put everywhere in the living room were now back to where they belonged.

It was around 11:12 am that day.

Her Elder sister had finally showed up.

"Big Sis, you are finally back!! I was wondering if you would come home early today. I guess I was right."

Laurencia's point of view of 'coming back early' was a bit off as her sister only came around noon, but it was rather normal for her who didn't even expect Dedicatus to be back at that time.

Laurencia Liddel,

She was a young and energetic girl, around the age of 12. The girl had short hair and a wolf cut hairstyle. Unlike her two older sisters, her hair was white colored. When at home, she was always wearing an apron, just like a maid, showing her sense of responsibilities when it came to daily chores.

Despite her age, she was likely more responsible than her two elder sisters, Dedicatus and Alyss, but mostly when it came to taking care of their house.

"Sowwy My lil' Sweety!! Took me much more time than I thought. Good Ol' John n' me had a long talk of possible reasons for this major crisis that's happenin' in most of the hospitals in the country. No lies this ain't a normal case, I tell ya!!"

"Don't worry, Big Sis! I understand."

The young girl replied with a big smile on her face. There was no hint of fakeness in her expression, she looked so much like an angel that Dedicatus couldn't help herself and started to act dramatically.

She hugged little Laurencia and placed her head between her chests.

"Ya art such a lovely lil' sister. Yer Big Sis promise ya to be more present once everythin' is settled done.", declared Dedicatus with her big sister vibe switched on. "By the way, talkin' 'bout family matters, where is Alyss!?"

"Ah~ yes.", replied the little girl as her face was still trapped in between Dedicatus's chest. "She went to Lancaster with Big Sis Sonya few hours ago. They said that it was urgent and that you'd understand the situation if I showed you the newspaper directly."

"Da heck she doin'!? She can't just leave the house like that, leavin' ya alone here. I clearly told her dat she had to wait for my comeback before goin' wherever she has to.", angrily said Dedicatus as she let off Laurencia. "Imma kick the butt of dat stupid lil' brat. But in any case, can ya show me where's dat newspaper?"

Laurencia went to take the newspaper that Alyss left on the desk then showed it to Dedicatus.

"Holy Molly Mother of a Goat!! What kinda fuckery is this!? A Witch Hunt!? We back to the good ol' days!?"

"Big Sis Alyss was really concerned when she saw it. With Sonya, they probably thought it was their duty to inquire about the truth behind it."

"Da heck!? They a fuckin' inquisitor or what!? Well in any case, I kinda get the reason now. I guess Imma let it slide this time. She is doin' dat to help."

"I hope she is doing fine!", replied the little sister while holding her hands on her small chest as if to pray.

"Ain't nothin' to worry 'bout Sweetheart, she fynna be in good shape. She may call for some updates later on... Imma go read some stuff to have everythin' ready in case they art in need of help!"

"Got it!", answered Laurencia with a smile.

Time has passed.

It was now late in the evening.

The two siblings had their exchanges regarding the current reality in Lancaster.

"Accordin' to what they told me, there is a 100% possibility there are witches livin' in town. But they ain't dum-dum to the point of messin' up stuff. Tonight's gonna be The Witch's Sabbath so the situation fynna be kinda dire....", said Dedicatus to herself while over analysing the situation. "Goin' on the fact dat Witches has been persecuted durin' dozens of centuries, there ain't even 1% possibility for any of them to make such an obvious mistake. Unless they art Captain Obvious!! But joke aside... Witches, Walpurgisnacht, Witch's Sabbath, Forest, Dark Baptism, Ultimate Cena! When ya think 'bout it, the origin of this mess is pretty obvious tho. Well, not gonna spoil the inquisition of Alyss n' Sonya so Imma just focus on handlin' the witches!"

"Eh~ Big Sis already knows why that witch hunt happened?"

Dedicatus was looking for a book in their miniature library and Laurencia was helping her. The Big Sister reached for one book on top of the shelf then looked at the title.

"Not this one as well!!", she said as she put back the book to where it was. "Listen lil' sis, it's nothin' more than psychology. Ya just need to analyse the behavior of the peeps around ya, n' with the proper knowledge, ya will grasp easily the truth."

"But not everyone can do that Big Sis!"

"Well, unlike Alyss n' Sonya, yer Big Sis here has no gift at all. That's why she had to compensate for it!! Not that this one’s knowledge can be compared to the Gifts of the Spirit! Nay!!! They have their battlefield where only they can shine, n' me, I just support them with the average knowledge I awakened through the many books I read!!"

Laurencia finally got her hand on the book they were looking for and showed the cover right away to her big sister.

"Look Big Sis, I found the book. It's this one, right? The Malleus Maleficarum!", while saying those words, Laurencia was kinda proud of herself.

"Well done Sweetheart!! Imma spare ya the history class this time. But I can just assure ya dat this book fynna be of great help! Now, let's get down to business!!"

Both of them went to the living room without any delay. Dedicatus sat on the sofa while holding the Malleus Maleficarum Laurencia just gave her.

She then gave her little sister a serious look.

"Listen Laurencia!! Now, Imma goin' to perform an astral projection. It's just a way for me to move to where Sonya n' Alyss art without movin' from here. I just need ya to go to yer room n' pray for My Soul, that It would easily find its way to the right place! Yer prayer will be like the lamp to lighten my path!! N' no matter what is happenin' here in the living room, never stop prayin', not till I am back!!"

The little girl understood from the fact that her big sister who would never ask for help or anyone’s support, were about to do something she could label as really dangerous.

And so the little girl didn't question her big sister and just followed her directives directly.

"Got it Big Sis! You can count on me!"

As the young girl was going upstairs to enter her room, Dedicatus laid down on the sofa and spoke to herself.

"All my life, I have been chased by Death!! Since that fateful day, I could feel its presence weightin' on my Spirit. It's always there, lurkin' in the dark n' waitin' for the occasion to harvest my Soul. This time, let's just use it to our advantage."