“Done.” Said Saintess, opening her eyes and sighing deeply, then leaned back from the lotus position that she sat in and fell to the floor resting her back on the cold stone. 

“If this doesn’t work then it’s simply useless. I don’t know what method was used but it’s beyond incomprehensible.” She said lying splayed on the floor staring at the ceiling. 

Trisha, who stood at the Saintess’ back throughout the whole process, and several previous attempts as well, walked to the center of the room, careful not to step on the deep grooves inscribed in the stone floor shining with dim light that slowly faded. 

Plaid-like patterns ran in circles around the entire floor of the room creating a complex magical circle in the center of which lay a pair of golden-rimmed glowing glasses. 

She walked over to the centralmost pattern waiting for the light inside the pattern around it to fade entirely and then a few more seconds before the glasses ceased to glow as well before picking up the glasses.

“Well?” Asked Saintess, lifting her head slightly to gaze at Trisha who put the glasses on and looked around the room.

“Sorry. Can’t see a thing.” Said Trisha finally a moment later.

“Whaat?” Whined Saintes in an exasperation lifting herself up and stretching her hand asking to give her the glasses. “Can’t be. This is my best inscription so far. I used divinity, for God's sake! Divinity! There’s no way it did not work. Give me that! You must be doing it wrong.”

“Are you sure it is still there, My Lady?” Asked Trisha, unfazed by Saintess’ berating words while taking the glasses off and giving them to the Saintess.

Saintess closed her eyes with her hand gripping the glasses and concentrated her senses on that uncomfortable feeling of being watched that followed her. 

“Yes. Faint, but it’s there.” She said, opening her eyes. She put on the glasses and swirled around looking in the direction from where she felt the annoying gaze.

She stood there for several minutes, gazing at the spot intently through the glasses that glowed with different colors as she sent different patterns of mana into them. However with every minute her face was scrunching more and more in anger. 

“Damn it!” She hissed in annoyance, finally giving up.

“Another failure.” Said Saintess turning to Trisha who had a slight smirk on her lips and froze in surprise. Trisha’s smirk quickly ceased as she noticed the shock on the Saintess’ face gazing intently at her.

“Umm…Your Holiness?” Said Trisha with a sense of unease. “What is it?”

The Saintess slowly raised her hand in silence still gazing at Trisha without blinking and stretched it toward trishas face.

“My Lady what are…” Said Trisha starting to lean back.

“Stop.” Commanded Saintess, stopping Trisha from leaning back from her hand and reached toward her forehead, making a grabbing motion. “What the hell is that?” Whispered Saintess.

“What is it? What’s there?” Whispered back Trisha in reply.

“There’s some kind of….paper sticking to your forehead.” The Saintess said, seeming to pull on something.

A faint zipp ran through Trisha’s skin as Saintess tore the paper away and held it in front of her, showing it to Trisha.

“This…This was on my forehead?” Asked Trisha rubbing away a small itch on her forehead as she gazed at the yellow slip of paper that seemed to appear out of nowhere in Saintess' hand.

“Interesting.” Said Saintess gazing intently at the paper before smirking. 

“What?” Asked Trisha

Saintess turned the paper slip in her hand and presented it to Trisha showing her the other side that had glowing red words written on it.

Another Shadow bitch. Was written in the upper part but seemed to be crossed out by a line. With words “Shadow Bitch that whipped the floor with old hag Paula. Officially scariest bitch alive.”

“What the fuck?” Asked Trisha rubbing her forehead again. “Is this all? Is there nothing else on my forehead?”

“No. That was it.” Said Saintess thoughtfully looking at the paper as she turned it in her hand a few times.

“What kind of…magic is this? Where did it come from? Who put it on me?” Asked Trisha reaching to the paper and taking it from Saintess’ hand, but the moment it left the Saintess’ hands, the paper turned to dust and then to vapor, ceasing to exist in a split second, perishing completely without leaving any traces.

“Wha…?” Exclaimed Trisha in surprise.

“Tsk. Happy? You broke it.” Said Saintess.

“Broke it? How the hell did it get on my forehead in the first place? Is this some kind of curse or what?”

“No. I think it’s just a skill of some interesting system. Some kind of mark.” Said Saintess muttering thoughtfully.

“Mark? Someone marked me? Could it be the same person that stalks you?”

“No.” Said Saintes rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “I don’t think so.” She added taking off the glasses and giving them to Trisha. “Look at me. Do I have it too?”

Trisha immediately put the glasses on and gazed at Saintess but saw nothing of the sort on her.

“No.” Said Trisha shaking her head as she took the glasses off.

“If it was the same person, I would have had it too.”  Said Saintess nodding as her theory was confirmed.

“Then who could have put it on me?” Asked Trisha.

“Funny Lady with the stickers.” Muttered Saintess suddenly remembering her recent dream.

“Funny Lady with stickers?” Said Trisha with a questioning voice. “The one that The Seer mentioned in your dream? You mean I met her somewhere?”

“Not somewhere. In Greenville town.” Said Saintess glancing at Trisha. “It only said that you are a shadow at first. But the words seemed to be changed later on. Someone changed it after your recent fight with Paula Stormbringer in the Greenville town. Updated it. It must have been someone who was in Greenville town at that time.”

“What do we do?” Asked Trisha.

“Find her. The Seer said that I needed her. Get back to the Greenville town. Take the glasses with you. The stickers will be your hint. Find her and bring her here. The Seer thinks that she is a useful ally, so make sure no harm comes to her.” Said Saintess.

“I understand, My Lady.” Said Trisha, nodding before disappearing into the shadow.

“The skill that can trace my shadows eh? Interesting.” Said Saintess.

*****

Madam Irene sat in the room painting her lips with a thin brush, getting ready for another entertainment night, while her eyes flickered occasionally to the paper report in her other hand.

“The sales of clothes are going quite well, but that face cream is not doing so good. Is it the quality? Damn, why is it so hard to find a good alchemist? Every one of them is so overconfident but at the end of the day, they are just incompetent one product only masters. Damn idiots.” Muttered Irene, glancing back into the mirror and turned her face several times to see if she made any mistake with her cosmetics.

She put down the lipstick brush, a content smile stretching on her fire-red lush lips in the mirror. She winked at herself and sent herself an air kiss.

“Alright. I am ready.” She said but a sudden metallic clanging sound made her jump up from surprise. She swirled around gazing in the direction of the source of sound and her eyes went wide. On the small tea table that was supposed to be empty a small pouch now lay half open a few coins glimmering through the opening.

“Who’s there!?” Shouted Irene. 

“Madam Irene, is something wrong?” Asked a voice as the door to her room swung open, a woman in security clothes checking into the room with a large man standing behind her.

“Someone got in. There is some kind of object on the table that was not there before.” Said Irene pointing at the pouch. 

Security immediately rushed in. As the woman took a place at Madam Irene’s side, the man walked up to the pouch carefully touching it with an unsheathed knife.

“There’s money inside.” Said the man studying the pouch. “And some paper note too.”

“Note? Read it.” Said Madam Irene. 

“Dear Irene. I am thankful for that night with Sam. It so happened that we met with her again, although not in very pleasing circumstances. You must have been worried about her as she could not get in contact with you lately. But you don’t need to worry anymore. She is doing fine now. I am taking care of her and her friends. This here is the debt she owes you from that night. I return it to you in her name. This money will be deducted from her payment for the job she does for me now. Sincerely yours…” Read the guard from the note before turning it in his hand a few times. “There is no name here.” He said after careful study.

“Count the money.” Said Madam Irene, creasing her eyebrows in a serious expression, still standing at the side of the room with the dressing table and the wall at her back and guard woman in front of her. 

The guard opened the pouch pouring the money on the table and counted it, dividing coins with the sharp point of his knife.

“Thirty-two large pieces of gold.” Said the man turning to her with a raised eyebrow in a questioning expression.

“It matches.” Muttered Madam Irene silently.

“Madam!” Suddenly exclaimed the man pointing somewhere behind her. Both Madam Irene and her guard swirled around to look behind but only saw her dressing table. 

However, there was now a big red word ‘Noah’ written on the mirror. 

“What the…?” Said the guard woman. “When did it…?”

“Madam?” Came a voice from outside the room startling everyone inside. A woman peeked through the half-open door tapping lightly on the door. “Madam. There’s a gentleman asking for you... Is everything alright?” She said seeing the serious expression on the faces of the guards and Madam Irene in the room.

“Who?” Asked Madam Irene, taking hold of her emotions.

“I don’t know him. His name is Noah. Noah Lewenred.” She said as Madam Irene's eyes went wide from surprise.

She glanced at the word on the mirror and then back at the woman. 

“Noah?” Muttered Madam Irene.

“What do we do, Madam? Do we call for more guards and capture him?” Asked the guard.

“Tell him, I will meet him shortly. Bring him to the VIP room.” Said Madam Irene to the woman and fixed her dress, straightening her back.