In Search of Epsilon

Francis' Worst

Francis liked the taste of dirt from the floor.  

It tasted like Bobby’s good old stolen beers. 

Życie’s father had kicked him out of the house. One of the guards had, quite literally, kicked him out, and now he was face down kissing the ground. 

Życie decided to escape to meet up with Francis. She knew that her parents would not bother her today, until a later date.  

After they met, they went to Francis’ house, as stealthily as possible. If they had been caught dressed that way, they could have been killed by the people around them. 

They, after scramming like mice, had finally reached the house, where grandpa was waiting for them.  

Francis and grandpa had a bit of small talk, and his grandpa was told of what had happened. A concerning look was thrown towards Życie, but her eyes never met his. His grandpa then closed them, as if in understanding.  

“Życie, why don’t you stay the night, it's awful dark and I would not like it if something happened to you,” he said. 

Życie agreed and decided she would spend the night there.  

Francis would sleep on the floor of his room, while she slept on his bed.  

“It isn’t exactly wonderland, your majesty, but one will recover their strength if rested here,” Francis told her. 

She giggled, and went to lay on his bed. 

Francis felt restless the entire night. Sleeping near Życie was like a dream come true, even though it was on separate beds. He laid there with his eyes closed unmoving for an hour, until he heard her get up.   

He didn’t move at all, even when she kissed his cheek and left, whispering in his ear the confession he had always dreamt of hearing.

Before he could process what he had heard, Życie was gone.  

He got up, grinning with delight, and started to search all around the house. He had wanted to kiss her, and tell her he felt the same way.  

But he could not find her.  

He then decided to search outside the house. 

 The moment he stepped outside, he noticed the woman he had met at the ballroom, patiently waiting for him.  

Francis wanted to ask her many questions, like how did she know where he lives, and why was she there, but the only question that came out of him was if she had seen Życie.  

“I have not, child” she said. 

Francis now got scared. Something inside of him had turned his gear. He was getting really worried.  

Francis’ first impulse was to grab her to force her to tell him, but the moment his hands got close to her they shriveled. Something innate told him that touching her would be the last thing he ever did.  

“She is headed towards her house” she said.  

Francis ran directly towards the mansion.  

She sighted, as she looked at Francis’ house.  

His mind was racing on the way there. Why was that lady there? How did she know where he lived? And, more importantly, why did Życie run away?  

Dread started to rise in his chest. Now that he had time to think, he realized that she was running. There was no way he would have seen her had she been any slower. The next thought was even more dreadful, she had confessed her love for him before running away.  

That was like a death flag.  

He started to see all the clues. Her wanting to escape the ballroom. Her acceptance of even staying over to sleep without worrying about her parents, and the fact that he had not seen Nero or the head of the House.  

Even the party itself was an indicator. Why would they host a party now? 

All the information was present for him to guess what was happening, but it was like he had not invested enough points in intelligence to see it. The final dot never connected in his head. Not until he finally saw her again.  

He finally reached the entrance to the mansion.  

It was a dark night. The moon was barely visible, and absolutely no stars were seen in the night sky.  

But it was not the night that gave Francis the sinister feel radiating from the mansion. It was the guards, posted everywhere, and the lack of guests, even though it was still nighttime. 

He started to sneak into the mansion. After a couple of close calls, and an obvious rock throw to distract, which failed miserably, he finally managed to get inside. 

The inside did not have any light to illuminate the house. The feeling of dread kept rising from his stomach, and now felt like it was choking him. He searched everywhere around the house, except for the main entrance.  

He then reached it, and noticed that the stairs to the upper floors had a huge pair of doors he had not yet checked. He then proceeded to open them.  

One of the doors slowly budged, but not enough to allow passage.  He peeked through the small opening and saw the worst thing he could have ever imagined.  

The Hunter ritual was, ironically, very beautiful. But the details of the ritual would not be seen by Francis until later on.  

Because his vision had turned red.  

Życie was tied up on the floor.