Amelia Thornheart Chapter Forty-One: A Nighttime Chat

Lani was bored. Father had instructed her to stay out of the way while he had important guests, but that was hours ago. What was she supposed to do? Sit in her room and poke holes in her pillow with her horns? Annoyingly, that was precisely what she had been doing! After thoroughly destroying one pillow, Lani sat up in bed and proceeded to tilt her head back, leaving two small dents in the wooden fra behind her.

“I… Am… Bored…” Lani muttered, punctuating each word by nodding backwards and further damaging the wooden bedfra. On the bright side, her horns had grown enough to do this! A year ago, she’d had to bend her neck all the way back!

“Lani, my dear,” said the old maid sitting across the room. “How much of the house are you intending to destroy with your horns?” The old maid spoke in that you're-being-childish-and-we-both-know-it tone that annoyed Lani so much.

“All of it!” Lani declared, bashing her horns against the wood once again. “Maybe then Father wouldn’t lock up with nothing to do!” It was so frustrating! Lani wanted to socialise with her human friend but apparently Alia had to attend a bunch of etings! Couldn’t they do it another ti!?

“You’re not locked up, dear,” said the maid, raising a finger. “Why not walk around the gardens?”

“Don’t want to.”

“Shall we have so tea in the conservatory?”

“Boring.”

“We could bake those cookies again? You know, the ones with the popping sugar?”

“Uhhh…” Lani rolled her eyes and then rolled her body off the bed, letting herself fall into a crumbled heap.

“Oh my, the lady of the house seems to have died!” Lani heard the maid intone cheerfully. “To think, after surviving such struggles! What a sha… just as Highlord Corvus and his guest are leaving! Speaker Thornheart is going to be so-”

“What!?” Lani leapt up and ran to the window. There, she saw Highlord Corvus with his scary-looking horns shaking hands with Father. A carriage was waiting for them and inside Lani could see the plain-looking demon that had co with the Highlord. “Why didn’t you tell sooner, old woman!” Lani complained. “I’m free!” Lani darted to the door and threw it open, bouncing down the hallway and leaving the old maid behind.

“Hehe!” Lani giggled to herself but quickly stopped when she rembered her job to teach Alia what it ant to be a proper lady! She forced herself to slow down, corrected her posture and kept her head high. “Mmm… now where are you…” Alia told her she would find Lani after her etings, but Lani couldn’t wait that long!

After not finding Alia in the entryway or the kitchens, a servant inford her that Alia was probably still in Father’s study along with Serena. After chastising the servant for not telling her sooner, Lani walked as fast as her dignified posture would allow and soon found herself outside the room in question.

Serena might tell her off for walking in, but Serena had already had more than enough of Alia’s ti! It was her turn now!

Lani threw open the study door. “Hello! Alia- huh?” Lani’s words were cut short as she saw Alia being thrown away from Serena; the human fell to the floor and tumbled before stopping.

Alia was red-faced and breathing heavily. Her hair was ruffled and to make things even worse, her shirt was ripped and so of the buttons had co undone! “What-” Lani looked at Alia, then at Serena to find her sister was also red-faced and looking at Lani in surprise!

“Lani, I didn’t hear you…” Serena muttered. She seed angry, but strangely, when she t Lani's gaze, she turned her head away with a guilty expression.

What in the Seven Hells was going on!?

“Hang on a minute…” Lani muttered, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. She observed the two won and ntally recounted the facts. Her guilty-looking sister. Alia being pushed to the ground. Alia, with ripped clothing and also an expression of guilt and sha…

It could only an one thing!

“Y-you!” Lani pointed an accusatory finger at Serena, stepping between the demon and the human. “You’re bulling Alia, aren’t you!? You’re beating her up! How… How horrible!” She felt tears form as her anger rose. How could Serena do sothing so cruel? “Alia’s not part of your crew!” Lani declared, trying to sound as forceful as possible. “You’re not allowed to hurt her! I’m going to tell Father!”

“No!” Both her sister and Alia cried out suddenly.

“Lani, look…” Serena mumbled.

“Lani! I’m fine!” Alia popped up with a smile, patting her hair and adjusting her shirt. “Your sister wasn’t punishing ! I promise! She was just, uh, showing so of her Shimokan martial techniques! She’s been teaching !” Alia said, nodding enthusiastically.

Too suspicious!

“I-I’ve heard about this! The victim makes excuses for the perpetrator! Is that what’s happening!?” Lani glared at the pair! She would get to the bottom of why Serena was bullying her friend!

“Lord Christ in the Seven Hells…” Serena muttered, making the sign of the demon cross. “I’m going to go insane…”

“Lani!” Alia exclaid. “I promise that everything’s fine. We train like this all the ti! Serena says it’s important to practice martial arts in all kinds of places, to get used to fighting at unexpected tis!”

Lani wanted to roll her eyes, but the sincerity in Alia’s gaze made her pause. Maybe it was just a bit of martial arts training. Alia had told her she was being taught before…

“Do you promise?” Lani asked suspiciously. “Do you pinky-promise?”

“I pinky-promise that I’m not getting bullied!” Alia held out her pinky. “You just walked in at a… uh… inopportune ti.”

Lani grasped the outstretched pinky with her own. “Fine! But we’re going to spend the rest of the day together, right!?” Alia nodded and reaffird the promise. “Hrmph!” Lani declared triumphantly. She stuck her tongue out at her big sister and led Alia out of the office. First, she would find Alia a new shirt and then tell Alia all the recent gossip Lani rembered from the Academy!

As she left and walked down the hallway, she heard a sound from the study that suspiciously sounded like two horns ramming into a wall.