Lady Venris Dastonia shrieked. She sat up so suddenly from her bed that Rumika, who sat on a chair beside her queen-sized bed, almost fell off her chair.

Leon promptly spewed out his coffee and coughed; Rumika tried to rub his back to soothe him, but his armor barred any access to his body from the neck down.

Instead of asking what happened—or why was it that a part of her dress was soaked in coffee—she stared at her hands and rubbed her arms, as if she was freed from bonds. Venris still seemed to be oblivious to the present world.

After what seemed an eternity, she stood up, which was when Rumika came into view and held her shoulders to restrain her.

“Now, now,” said Rumika, placating her. “No need to do anything rash, Sev—er, Venris,” she gently forced her to a sitting position again, and Venris was still too dazed to fight back.

“I heard all of you, even the people outside. All these time.” whispered Venris softly. “Do you know why I did not surrender to sleep?” Slowly, she turned her gaze towards Leon, until her steel-blue eyes locked his. “I vowed never to sleep untilI take Hesper down. Again. I was fighting the spell—“ she mumbled, slightly incoherently as she shook off the haziness from her head.

“And what will you do? Violate King Tristran’s laws by committing unlicensed bloodshed?” said the Paladin dryly—not realizing that this was not the time to cross her—as he wiped his mouth and chin with the hem of his velvet cape. “You are no longer one of his Knights, remember that.”

Snarling, Venris's hand shot out and grabbed Leon by the collar. Rumika smartly skipped to the other end of the room.

“How dare you—”

The door suddenly opened, with Havelock standing by the doorframe. “Nice to see you out of the spell, Lady Dastonia,” said the High Priest amiably. “And nice to see you making more friends of the female persuasion,” he said to Leon without missing a beat.

“She's—” Leon coughed, “bee' a friend o mmmphhkk....” Leon gurgled with Venris' hand grabbing the collar of his chain mail a little too tight for comfort.

Venris' attention shifted to Havelock, her eyes narrowing. She let her hold on Leon's neck slacken, making the Paladin hack and wheeze. “You. Bring me to where Hesper is. Now.”

“I am afraid—”

“Muramasa!” called Venris to her demon servant. Within seconds her blood-red blade somehow found its way into her hands, and the demon with the celestial scythe appeared. It stood behind her, waiting for her orders.

She raised the tip of her blade towards Havelock. “Give me the portal to wherever Hesper is,” she said. “Whoever gets in my way either sods off or dies.”

Havelock raised his palms. “Very well then,” he said. “It's...not necessary to do,” he eyed the tip of the demon sword, “that.”