Their path back to the van was uneventful, with nightfall this part of town quickly emptied out. Only stopped by the occasional traffic light they made their way back to the stronghold, where Sin began to store their supplies while Maria waited by the bedroom door, staring down at her hair dye, lost in thought. She did not take her eyes off of the packaging until Sin arrived at her sight, a pair of scissors and a comb in hand. "Shall we then, my master?"
Maria sat down at the dresser, staring at herself in the mirror, sighing at the dark rings and bloodshot eyes. "To think I ran around town like that, ah well." Sin waited behind her, scissor in hand. "Have you a specific wish, your majesty?" One last time Maria looked at herself, gripping tightly onto the arms of her chair. "Yes, I want it like this."
4 hours later Maria left the room, a changed woman. Her hair was of a brilliant blonde, cut in a medium length bob, eye shadow hiding her dark circles. With new strength she carried herself upright, a wide, confident smile plastered across her face. Sin followed her, letting out a low sigh of relief. "I cannot say I fully understand your wish, my master. Your previous length matched royalty far better in my eyes." She looked back at her servant, who could not help but smile at the joy written across Maria's face. "It's more, trendy, you know. And I just feel, lighter. Better." A light flush crept over her face as she stumbled in trying to explain herself. "But, anyways! I want to finally start learning." Sin answered with a bow and returned to their bags, producing the folder they had acquired. "Well it is not terribly far from here, I don't see why not. Going at it during the night is better, less passerby's, et cetera." She put the folder bag into her bag and took it with her to the exit, following her master out into the factory. On their way outside Maria stopped, and wandered off into a small room. It was as ruined as the rest of the place, but she had noticed a crowbar laying in a corner, relatively free from rust. She picked it up, holding it with both hands and swung it twice, before looking away in embarrassment as she saw Sin's puzzled expression. "I just, thought that being able to defend myself would be useful."
Sin followed her into the room, and laid a hand on hers. "My master, I am your weapon and your shield. You needn't bloody your hands. Especially not with something this blunt and cruel." She looked into her master's eyes, and let go with a sigh. "But if it is your wish, then do so. It is good to raise your confidence, even if it is through something rather silly." Maria jumped with joy and hid the weapon in her bag, just underneath Sir Screech who she could not have stomached to leave behind again. Together they left the factory and turned further westward, across the river. The area was still in the process of modernisation, with new, state of the art houses standing in close proximity to old derelict apartment blocks. Outside of them there were rather sizeable crowds of people who at times took notice of Maria, greeting her with remarks that made her bloody boil. Three times she had to endure it, and every time Sin whispered gently. "Just a word and I will rid them for you, my master. It would take weeks for them to take note, they would not be missed." But she ignored her servant, albeit the offer became more tempting with every remark.
Finally they reached the address Saphire had given them, of an unassuming two-story house. Sin held her master back as she tried to walk up to the door. "Please give me a moment, my master. Shamans are generally too dumb to create sophisticated wards, but one should not be too careful." For a few moment Sin walked around the perimeter, her body tense. Maria looked up and down the street in the meantime, worry mixing with her excitement. When Sin returned she seemed calm. "As I thought, there is nothing in our way. He may however try to flee or call for help when he sees me. Even a failed master has sight sophisticated enough that hiding from him would mean that I could do little else. Will you allow me to act should he attempt any of these things?"
Maria looked back at her servant, narrowing her eyes. "Yes. But you are not allowed to harm him in any way that would leave a mark. I need him alive after all." Sin looked sorely disappointed, but bowed nonetheless. "I submit to your wisdom, my master." With this the two took the last few steps to the door, with Maria ringing the bell.
"Yea uh, just a second, sorry!" They could hear a stumble, the heavy thud of something falling to the ground, then the door opened quickly after. Before them stood a man in his late thirties who looked like he had just returned from a long trip. His suit was a mess, his hair uncombed and he must have not shaved for a few days. Nonetheless he gave them a bright smile. "Good evening ladies, I think you got the wrong address, the big parties are further down-" Within a moment of him laying her eyes on Sin did his expression change to pure terror. He stumbled back, bolting for the stairs and tripping over his shoe laces, even on the ground he crawled on all fours like an insect in blind panic. But Sin was faster, leaping past her Master and pinning him to the ground. One hand she held to his neck, and it was enough to cause him to freeze, staring back at Sin with nothing but dread. "Please Don't Kill Me Please I Beg You I Will Do Anything You Want Please Don't Kill Me Please!" His words were an incoherent slur of pleas which Sin silenced by tightening her grip. Maria quickly followed the two inside, staring down at Sin. "I told you not to hurt him! Get off!" Sin stared at her Master, then down at the man before following her orders, letting go of him. He scurried to a corner, staring back at them like a frightened animal.
"We are not here to hurt you, Mr. Weld. I am Maria, Len-Fey. I'm sure you know who Sin is. I need your help to learn, well, magic." She looked back at Sin for help, who closed her eyes. "My master needs to awaken her blood, fast. You're the only Shaman that Saphire was willing to offer us, so teach my Master and I may let you live." Maria hissed and stomped her foot on the ground, causing Sin to look back at her in surprise. "No, threatening! Just, just stay guard outside, I have my weapon I will be fine." Sin was taken aback. Three times she tried to speak, without success, until she bowed her head and left the house. With her gone Mr. Weld began to just slightly calm down. "T-that is all? You, You just need to learn to awaken and you'll let me go? A, a Len-Fey, letting me go? Please don't lie to me!" He got down on his knees, clinging onto her legs. "Please my daughter needs me I don't, I can't leave her!" Maria took a few hurried steps back, her hand sliding into her bag for her crowbar. "I am the heiress, Mr Weld, my word means something. If you help me learn what I need to know then we will leave, nothing is going to happen to you. You have my word."
Her insistence and sincerity caused him to finally break out of the terror that had filled his mind. With still weak knees he got back up on his feet, nodding fast a few times. "Of course, Of course, please follow me then!" he quickly walked off, vanishing into a neighbouring room, with such a pace that Maria struggled to keep up with him. "I am just, well Saphire probably told you I'm a failure, never made it to a master and, well she is right about that but, for what you, you need I have everything, yes." He lead her into a small library, where he began to pull book after book out of the shelves, his hands still trembling enough that he often dropped them, without noticing he simply pulled out another. "Ah where is it, where is it?! Well, well basically, madame Len-Fey, you need to think of, of your magic as your blood, and your blood as your magic. The great elders they, they made a lot of research into the whole origin of it all but, that is not very, well very important for your needs I wont, wont waste your time I swear I am not wasting your time your highness!" His breath got out of control, it took him a few moments to compose himself as he finally got the right book. He sat down at the desk, with Maria taking a seat opposite of him.
"So, so as I said, your power flows through your veins, let us for now say it does so literally, yes? Well to, awaken it, mages would use their spells they weave through a complicated set of rules and laws that, I, well I tried to be a mage but, I never managed to pass even the first exams so I became a shaman instead, not, not by choice, so you can, can tell lady Sin that I am not a real shaman and that she really, really doesn't have to kill me!" Maria leaned forward, and laid a hand on his. "Please calm down Mr. Weld." She tried to put as much sincerity into her words as she could. "I am Sin's master, not the other way around. She will not hurt you, you have my word."
Her words began to work as his shoulders relaxed and the nervous tick of his left eye stopped. "Thank, thank you, Madame Len-Fey. Where, where was I again? Ah yes, Shamanism. Basically, Shamans use their instincts and mind to connect to their blood and awaken it, rather than the craft the mages use. That is why many flock to their teachings they, well they are a lot easier, but much less precise." He gave her a weak smile and scratched the back of his head. "There is a, very simple ritual to let you connect to your blood and the power within. If you could, please close your eyes, Madame Len-Fey." She looked at him for a moment, a sense of worry washing over her, though she did as asked nonetheless and closed her eyes.
"Now, picture your body, like in a diagram. You can think of your veins, yes? Imagine them as the conduits of your power." Maria lowered her head, furrowing her brows. As she began to imagine her body she could feel her pulse more clearly, the steady beat of her heart. "Can you picture it, Madame?" Maria nodded her head, causing Mr. Weld to sigh out in relief. "Now, this is the hard part but, have you felt an emptiness before?"
His words caused her to grip onto the chair more tightly, gritting her teeth. "Every day of my life." She could not see the surprise across his face, but hear it in his voice. "Well, imagine that emptiness as the lock, that which is dividing you from your power. A gate or a door works well, a barrier of any kind." It did not take long for Maria to imagine, right as she heard the words all she could think of was a hole, the void in her chest that had been gnawing at her all her life. "I am." she whispered, her breath starting to go uneven.
"And now, imagine something you wish. Something big. Like becoming famous, or rich, or getting a text back from your crush, that kind of thing. Think of this desire and let it fill your emptiness, let it-"
"Elizabeth." She said out loud, and leaned her head back, her eyes fluttering open and widening. She felt whole. The bright red lines began to once more spread across her body, and Mr. Weld jumped out of his seat, scurrying backwards. "In, Incredible. I never, I." He went down on his knees, averting his gaze from her. Maria looked down at him, and as she saw him, all Maria could feel was pity. Never before had she felt so sorry for someone. How could anyone be this weak?
She stood up and spread out her arm, clenching her hand to a fist. She could not help but smile, the feeling of strength, of power. "How do I, do magic now then?" She looked back down at him. "W, Well, much in the same way you must, picture it and, well, will it into being. The, the bigger or complicated the thing of course, the harder it is and, you could well strain yourself. But, there is not, not much else to Shamanism, the rest is, well a lot of old rituals and exercises." He smiled weakly, shrugging. "I could, yes, here!" He got up and worked through his shelves, taking down two, three, four books and laid them onto the desk. "Please just, just take them, they, they are the first texts that should give you a good, idea of some basics." Maria took them, surprised that she could not feel the weight of the hefty tomes. Slowly however, she began to feel tired, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "Am I, doing something, wrong?" She muttered, looking back at him, too tired to see the worry on his face.
"Yes, you are not used to this madame! You must lock your connection again, much in the same way. Close your eyes, imagine your body and your power, and lock the gate again. You can use the same desire as your key, if the analogy helps."
Maria closed her eyes, feeling her consciousness fade. Once more she imagined Elizabeth, the picture of her at the graduation ceremony, how she was a radiant beacon of elegance. And then she let go, feeling the power slowly leave her like the warmth of the sun as it vanished behind the clouds. Only the exhaustion remained, the exhaustion and the afterglow. Now suddenly the books felt near unbearably heavy. "Thank you, Mr Weld." His hands were fidgeting as he did his best to return her smile, though he failed miserably. "Is there, any, anything else you may need, madame?" Maria looked down at the books and nodded. "Y- someone told me that I need to use my Authority over beasts, that it is the most important thing for me to learn. Can you help me with that?"
His small shreds of confidence were shattered at his words. "The, beasts? You don't, you don't mean you are trying to recover them?! I, I cannot help, not with this, please do not force me madame, I do not know, I know nothing, please forgive me!" She looked at him startled and took a step back. "I, I understand, Mr. Weld. Thank you very much for your help, I will leave now. You will never have to see me again." She turned to leave, but a dark thought, a dreadful idea crept into her mind and caused her to stop. "Mr Weld. I have a family, just like you." She said quietly, gripping tightly onto her books. "For their sake, I ask that you do not tell anyone that I was here. They mean much to me." She turned her head back to him, a small stream of tears running down her face. "I could not, tell, what I would do, if something happened to them. So please, forget that you ever met me."
With these words she left him behind, quickly exiting the house. Sin was waiting still outside, her growling ceasing the moment that she saw her master. "I could feel your awakening and deeply regret that I could not have been there to witness it, my master." She looked at her trembling arms and stretched out hers. "Please let me carry these for you." With a grateful gasp she let Sin take the books, a light pout still on her face. "You could have been there if you didn't try to kill anyone you saw. He could not help me with the authority sadly, it really terrified him when I brought it up."
Together they left the house and slipped into the cover of night, illuminated only by the street lights. Sin smiled widely at her masters words. "Well that is very understandable. You are trying to gather my little sisters after all, any child born to the lowliest family of scribes knows them and their purpose."
Her words caused Maria to look back at her Servant. "You never told me it, really. What 'is' there purpose, outside of being my servants?"
Sin returned her gaze. "My little sisters are your tools, my master. For the total subjugation of the world of magic and the world of man alike."
