"All done." Iris straightened her back and looked over the girl's shoulder towards levitating shards of polished metal acting as a mirror examining her work. It took the elf close to half a bell to dress Kia in the clothes provided by their vampiric host but the end result was worth it in her opinion as she watched Kia's flushed face trying to avoid her eyes.

The mage wore a dark catalian dress tightly fitting around the cuffs and neck. The dress progressively narrowed around the girl's body closely following the outline of the corset underneath until reaching Kia's waist. Suddenly flowering outwards, veiling her legs behind a glimmering skirt. The outside of the shimmering dress felt silky to the touch but the inside layer felt like fluffed plumage, tempting with its softness to endlessly stroke it.

Underneath it all, there was an equally soft blouse which was slightly oversized for Kia slightly shorter than the average figure and peeking from under the skirt was a pair of polished black shoes which shrunk down as soon Kia put them on. She resembled a cloth doll human girls used to have in the village Iris used to live in but much prettier and considerably more alive.

 

  Iris was astonished at how many layers of clothing attire like this took to properly wear and how did any living being could wear this without suffering a heat stroke. She had to figure out how to put the strange clothes on the undead mage's body and properly tie the many laces holding everything together but to her relief, she somehow managed to do it with nothing looking off. A part of her suspected the elaborate dress was part of some scheme made by the bloodsucker, she would not be surprised if the vampire stood beside the door waiting to be called in to help.

 

"You like it?" Iris asked the strangely fidgeting girl trying to avoid eye contact.

 

"no" A sheepish response came from the necromancer.

 

"Oh. Why is that?" The elf asked. "You look like such a fair princess in this."

 

  The pale princess turned to look at the elf, a frown splited her forehead causing Iris to quickly snuffed out the teasing flame as Kia slowly observed her from head to toe with the two different colour eyes which glowed with pale light staring at the risen with blank stare searching for something deeper. 

The soft glow vanished from Kia's eyes before she spoke again in a soft voice. "Please could you at least not act like that." She said hugging the elf tightly.

 

  The risen surprised by the necromancer sudden change in sentiment stood still trying to compute what happened causing Kia to tighten her hug sending waves of chill through her body. "Of course." She finally said, stroking the girl's long smooth onyx hair. "But you can't go naked if you don't want to wear this and I don't see any other clothes around." 

 

"Mmmm?" A thoughtful hum came from Kia as she unpeeled herself from the hoplite.

 

"Kia!?" Iris watched as the girl's upper body disappeared into thin air.

 

The air where her body should be was distorted like a mirage on a hot summer day. Her hand suddenly reappeared with a book which she flung backwards followed by an assortment of seemingly random items.

 

"You will break my mind one day." The elf sighed at the girl halfway in her inventory. The deluge of stuff primarily consisting of books larger than the pale girl, appeared to have no end. The elf started to sort the necromancer's recklessly thrown belongings into neatly stacked piles waiting for the deluge to finish.

 

"Found what you were looking for?" Iris asked the girl.

 

"No. Nothing useful." The mage shifted her eyes away from the elf with an embarrassed look. 

 

"What now?" Iris didn't want to push the subject further.

 

"Why do you got the good clothes?" The necromancer lamented, not answering the question.

 

  Iris was given a simple thin linen buttoned shirt, black leather pants and a large overcoat which she didn't put on. The only things she shared with the necromancer were the socks made from half-transparent material which reached their thighs and the black shoes.

 

"I think our host would like to disagree," Iris said. "How about you only wear this for a little while until we get our old clothes back?"

 

"But..." Kia slumped to the ground with a heartbreaking expression. "Hey?!" 

 

  Iris scooped the undead from the floor and sat down on the bed with the girl on her lap. "You see this my little doll?" She pointed at the mage's belongings littering the ground. Her breaths licked Kia's neck. "You know what naughty doll's like you deserve?" Kia eyed the elf with fear mixed with curiosity painted on her pale face. "Punishment."

 

"!?" Kia could barely react as Iris assaulted her using the ultimate weapon. "Hahastopha!" The girl's uncontrollable giggles filled the air as she attempted to escape the elf's grasp. The shorter undead managed to roll out of the taller undead arms falling onto the soft cushions.

 

"No, you don't~" Iris stated, pinning Kia's arms over her head, immobilising the girl by putting her own weight on girl's chest and resuming her relentless attack.

 

*Grumble*

 

"Oh?" Iris ceased her assault and stood off Kia's chest leaving the exhausted mage alone on the bed. "Want another round~?" 

 

"No?"

 

The elf flashed a predatory smile towards the defenceless girl. "I will deal with you later, you sinful undead."

 

"Today?" Kia turned to the elf.

 

"Maybe~" Iris teased. "Come on stand up."

 

 

 

"Welcome Great Master?" A male servant bowed to Kia as she opened the door causing the necromancer to mutter something under her nose. "My Mistress is expecting you." He said, silently motioning to them to follow him deeper into the enormous mansion.

 

  They were led into a room with a large expensive-looking round table in the corner covered with handwritten notes with a couple of cushioned chairs surrounding it. Bookshelves lined the walls filled with large dusty tomes. In the opposite corner, a simple door led somewhere deeper. The room gave off a homely aura compared to the rest of the sterile mansion.

 

"Sit here I shall inform Mistress." The servant said in a monotone opening the ordinary-looking door beside him.

 

"What!" A familiar voice screamed at the servant from within.

 

"Great Master had awakened."

 

"What! You should have said it faster!" The noise of something falling on the floor shook the room followed by loud steps. "Master?!" *Ahem* "I meant that the Greatest and Wisest of Masters would of course be already waiting for their humble servants." A tired-looking Miss Umbria emerged from the room behind the door wearing a blue nightgown and carrying a large book with unreadable scrip on its spine.

 

"H-hi." Kia hesitantly greeted the vampire after Iris pushed her a little.

 

"OOOHHH! I am most humbled by your most invaluable words!" The vampire bowed so low, it caused Iris to wonder if the blood-drinking undead had a spine. "Bring Master some solid food, will you?" She turned to the servant and commanded before taking a seat opposite to her Master.

 

"I see the young Harbinger had managed to dress your most flawless of forms." The sweet-sounding words leaked a putrid aftertaste as Umbria stared at the elf.

 

  Kia looked up to the risen, her body shuddering as she met the pair of amethyst eyes. "Y-yes. When will you give back my clothes?"

 

"You should not concern yourself about such petty matters but I would imagine your most illustrious clothes will be ready tomorrow." The woman said at the same time servants carrying plates of food burst in.

 

  Porcelain plates with a steaming bowl were placed in front of the three undead. To Iris's great surprise the bowls were made from hollowed-out loaves of bread with the fluffy insides floating in the grey soap alongside chunks of sausage, earthfruit and boiled egg.

Kia happily dug into the food in front of her to the great amusement and confusion of the two older undead beside her. "Yummy!"

Iris curiously lifted a spoonful of the unusually thick soup to her mouth. "Sour." She commented, tearing a piece of the bowl and wetting it in the soup before eating it.

 

"Ohhh!" Necromancer's eyes widened at the sight of more food being hidden in plain sight.

 

"Don't make a hole inside or it will all flow out." The elf warned.

 

"I take it as you like solid food?" A hesitant question came from Umbria. "To be honest I am no expert in such matters."

 

"I was worried that you would bring golden plated beef or something," Iris expressed her worry, seeing it once in Havenfall at a noble banquet. Knowing the undead devourer beside her, flakes of precious metal would not deter her from eating anything. "But this is truly really good." She answered for herself and the girl too busy with eating. "Why are you not eating yourself?" She pointed at the cooling dish in front of Umbria.

 

"The royal chiefs do not know my blessing."    

 

"That does not answer the question."

 

"I can only consume blood," Umbria tore a piece of the bread and place it on her outstretched tongue. Her mouth moved as her jaw chew on the piece of bread shortly after she opened her mouth and the bread had turned to ash which now stained the inside of Umbria's mouth grey.

 

"That's terrible!" Kia suddenly shrieked in empathy.

 

"Not really, my Master. Blood tastes wonderful and as long as I consume more blood than the food I can taste it without this." She pointed at the inside of her mouth taking a long sip of a goblet beside her. "You should try to listen to your closer Kin and try some." She offered the chalice to the mage, smiling in such a way which highlighted her fangs.

 

"No." The girl declined, returning to her soup. The vampire gave the elf a blank stare upon hearing this.

 

  Kia asked for Umbria's portion which the bloodsucker was happy to do. Their host opened the manuscript which she held tightly thus far, her eyes shifted from the text to Kia and Iris. Her scowl towards the elf increased as she flipped through the thick manuscript.

The risen tilted her head in an attempt to read the words on the leather spine again but found it impossible as her Talent refused to translate the script.

 

"Excellent Master, could I dare and ask, what is your great plan?" A sudden question came from the human-looking woman.

 

"Ehhh?" 

 

"I mean, why are you amidst us now in such physical form?"

 

"I just want to explore with Iris?" The girl replied with another question.

 

"Aaa of course Master," The vampire smiled courteously to the necromancer. "But you don't have to hide your intentions in here, in the realm of your servant. Which of your great project will you begin with, call on me and I shall follow your orders to their end or my own. Should I already start to dispatch spies to find a specific relic for you to devour our great oppressor in the sky and lift its shackles from all your Faithful?" Umbria passionately spoke to the undead mage in front of her each word fueling the zealous flame burning in her eyes.

 

"Is the Sun tasty?"