Chapter 5

(Super Long author's note at end)

She stayed in her room until the designated time. When a maid brought food, she thanked her politely but didn't take any of it. She rubbed the lamp charm she had taken off her left anklet. It was the one that Ali, her old master had insisted on giving her when she went off on her quest. It was the metal vessel that she had resided in, shrunk down to a charm. It no longer held any significance but sentimental value.

The window was right there, to her right. If she wanted to, maybe she could get away. But any confidence she had shown on her quest was fake. It was all a mask, something that she wasn't, something she couldn't be when she was in such a weakened state.

When she was a djinn, she had the powers of the stars and night at her beck and call, a nearly unlimited amount of magoi. But as a human, she no longer knew what to do. Even back in the days of Alma Torran, she could never control herself. Now that she was new to being a human again, she would need to relearn everything.

Even as she had faced off against Kouen, she found her grip on the sword inadequate, shaky, fake. Vega hated it. And the training sessions she held in the library for her magic and her physique weren't really doing anything, at least, not yet.

Perhaps after this was all over, perhaps after she was able to get away, she would be able to train more. She had read of an institute called Magnostadt, where they trained aspiring magicians. Yes, perhaps she would go there.

Vega found that touching metal helped her to calm down. It had started even before Solomon helped her, took her away from the bad people. The chains that bound her were the only things that she found solace in on those dark, dark days.

On the days where she didn't know if tomorrow would come. On those days she didn't know if she was going to eat. Those days where there was only blood, blood, blood.

After each day when she returned to her cell, bloodied, beaten, and bruised, she held onto the metal like it was the rope a person falling would grab onto.

Blood, so much blood, so much darkness, so much hopelessness, so many screams.

Those chains, they were rusty and cold but they were the only constant, other than the dark. And, well, that's not a tangible thing, is it? Vega put her hands together, side by side and admired the scar that would only complete if they were held a certain way.

"Let's get those off you, alright?" The man who was her savior, the one who was going to take her away, he held a sword in hand. It was supposed to be a freeing gesture, one that was supposed to be a happy memory.

He raised the sword high to break the chains of hurt, pain, and sorrow.

"NO!" She sobbed, scream tearing through the air. "No, no, no, please don't do that, please!" The little girl shielded those chains with her own two hands, pale and dirtied. She didn't care if there would be blood. That would be normal. It wouldn't be normal if he…

It was too late. He was careless, and her hands had been too fast.

The pain was blinding, but at the same time tolerable. All she knew was that she was happy. The familiar weight on her ankles. It was still there. Itwasstillthereitwasstillthereitwasstillthere.

Solomon looked down at her, confused. Didn't she want to be free? Wasn't she happy that she could finally get away from being used, abused?

Tears formed in her eyes, and the girl called Orias put her head down in shame. "I'm sorry." She whispered. "I'm sorry, I just-can't.'

She caressed the heavy anklets she had on, slim enough to be pretty and feminine, but at the same time carried the weight of a slave's chains. The small chains that dangled from it, each with their own charm, let her have the chains that connected those two cuffs but without society looking down on her.

The ones she had worn as a djinn no longer fit her, yet they were one of the only pieces of jewelry she kept that had no real use. Jasmine had been kind enough, and understanding enough to have the set she was currently wearing crafted to perfection, providing her exactly what she needed.

Those two had been so kind, so understanding, and she was undeserving of them. She clenched her hands tight, wondering if she would even be able to do anything to change their situation. If she failed, all the kindness they had shown her would be for naught. Everything Solomon, Sheba, Arba had done for her would be for nothing. This world, which she had found friends in, was able to see the stars in- would be gone.

The darkness in her room came as a surprise. Whilst she had been remembering, she hadn't paid attention to the vibrant hues of the sun slipping over the horizon's edge, didn't realize that the sky had shifted into her domain without her watchful eye. She was reminded that without her, the world would go on.

But not for long. Not with what was coming.

She slipped her sword into a loop in her clothing and moved towards the room she had been avoiding. It was time to finally face Kouen and Judal.

She hadn't announced herself extravagantly, but when she walked into that room, all noise stopped. Every set of eyes was on her. Koumei and Kouha were two unexpected additions that also has a shared interest in the girl who tried to slip in undetected.

"So ghost, were you planning on sneaking out?" Judal smirked as he trained his crimson orbs on the woman in front of him.

"No, I was not." It was true. She hadn't even thought about it once she had gotten back to her room but for that fleeting moment that she dismissed. Vega blatantly stared at the only red-haired man in the room whom she had not been formally introduced to. Judal followed her gaze to the tactician of the palace.

"That's Mei." Kouha had also looked at her line of sight, and realizing that his brother was in her line of sight sought to introduce her. "He's also a dungeon conqueror! His djinn is Dantalion." Had she mentioned that she hated it when people referred to djinn as theirs? They too were their own entities. It was not as though they lived and breathed to serve those who captured their dungeon. Nobody needed to know she thought that though. Nobody would even be able to tell that she disliked it, and the only difference would be that she would refer to djinn by their names, and not assign ownership. It was almost as bad as slavery.

The name finally registered in her head. Dantalion. She looked a little closer at the scrawny looking prince, trying to determine whether or not he was worthy of handling one of the wisest and best friends that she had available back in Alma Torran. Koumei began to nod off. Well, if that wasn't a match made in heaven, she didn't know what was.

"It's nice to finally meet you in person, Orias." Koumei mumbled behind his fan, gaze lowered but sharp and noticing.

"And I, you. Though I must say, if we had met under different circumstances," She stressed, "Perhaps our meeting would be more enjoyable." Vega turned to Judal, ignoring Kouen's burning gaze. "Would you mind explaining why you called me here, high priest?" She hissed the title, angry and mocking, but at the same time cautious.

"Well, like I said, I want to know what you are?"

"Not who I am? Is it not demeaning to be referred to as a what?" She held back the sentence hanging in the back of her mouth- shouldn't you be one to know exactly how demeaning that is?

"Until you tell me your powers, and how you explain your weird rukh, I will refer to you as a what. Or ghost." He provided no explanation for his second 'nickname' for her, though she believed it had something to do with her pale skin and the fact that he must have heard stories about her evading Kouen so much to the point that she was unseen by him, a ghost.

"Pray tell, what reason should I have to tell you?" Vega wanted to sit, but Kouen had the only chair, and she would not kneel in front of this family ever.

Kouen finally spoke. "There are multiple reasons." His burning gaze simmered down to a languid one, one of a cat watching it's prey. The eyes of a predator. "There is a high chance of you not being able to escape if you don't cooperate. You've made friends with Hakuei. You've made friends in the kitchen, who I might add are disposable. In order to get out of this room without cooperating, you would have to face three dungeon capturers and a magi." Kouen might not usually give information freely, but when it came to threats, he had no trouble using the facts laid out in front of him.

"Yes, we've been through this," she murmured.

"Then why do you insist on asking?"

She shrugged. "Just wanted to know if your answer would change- and it has. But," She shifted her gaze from Kouen back to Judal. "To answer your question, I don't know what I am, as you so crudely put it."

"How can you not know what you are?" Kouha demanded, confused. But he was the only one. Koumei, ever the tactician, had put pieces together. Kouen had told him, word for word every conversation they had had. Judal could take a guess, seeing the similarity of the way rukh fluttered around her to the djinn in each dungeon he had raised.

Kouen didn't know what she was, but he understood her confusion in labeling herself. Many people did not know what category they fell under. He, himself, had determined long ago that he was Crown Prince first, General second, dungeon capturer third, person last.

Vega shrugged her shoulders, some of the loose cloth on her shoulders slipping off. It didn't bother her much seeing as she had worn far less before. It didn't matter because her goal would be more important than her dignity. "Does it really matter what the answer is anyways? Would it make any difference in how you treated me?"

Yes, yes it would.

Black rukh fluttered around the room, lazily, hesitantly attaching themselves to Vega at times, but gathering around Judal like he was a god, because to them, he was. Vega was no longer able to fully see the rukh, something she had been losing ever since becoming human, but still, there was no doubt that so many people in the Kou empire were fallen, if not half.

The imposing man in the chair certainly was one of those half-fallen. She was still yet to find out the cause, nor was she eager to. It gave her the feeling she had years ago, in that dark little cell, people looming over her.

"-Ah! No!" The touch of leather seared and burned flesh away. Those scars would never fade, never heal.

Vega almost flinched at the memory, but reminded herself of the position she was in. Not a time to show weakness.

Judal stared at Vega a little longer, studying her face and her rukh. After a few minutes of silence, he nodded his head, seemingly satisfied. He walked past her to the door. "Bye, ghost. I think we'll see each other again."

Koumei left soon after that, excusing himself to go to a meeting.

Two Kou people down, two to go.

Of course, now that Judal was gone, Vega relaxed visibly. Her shoulders did not slump and her stance did not waver, her eyes grew less cold, less calculating, though they weren't even halfway to softening.

A maid entered the room, head bowed low, refusing to look any of them in the eyes.

"Excuse me your highnesses, you called?" A maid appeared in the doorway of Kouen's room, having been told to never enter without explicit information otherwise.

"Some peaches would be nice." Said Kouha.

"Would you mind bringing all of the food you possibly can?" Vega asked as she realized she hadn't eaten nearly all day. There was no sense in allowing unnecessary discomfort when she didn't know how long she would be there. "I'm quite hungry."

Kouen just sat there, riffling through various papers he had on his desk. Within five minutes, the same maid was sent up with three others, one carrying peaches, and the others carrying a full course meal.

"You may leave." Kouen dismissed the maid.

Vega closed her eyes for a while. This man who held three djinn seemed not to care for his servants very much. Still, he seemed much more trustworthy than Sinbad.

In fact, she found herself comparing the two every second they were together. They were the two metal vessel users she had met that had more than one after all. Kouha seemed to be a fine candidate for a single metal vessel, and she was true that with Aladdin's guidance, Alibaba could grow to unknown heights with his djinn. Both of the younger men were fine in terms of personality, responsibility and power.

But Sinbad and Kouen…

She hadn't really spent enough time with either to judge them, she decided. And Sinbad, well, maybe when he had his metal vessels he was more responsible. It was unfortunate that she wasn't really close to any of the metal vessel users to request to see their djinn.

Vega opened her eyes again. In front of her was the food she had been craving moments before.

Her stomach growled.

All of the food was gone within moments.

Kouha's eyes widened. "Where did all of the food go?"

"What are you talking about? You still have the peaches, don't you?" Vega smiled. There was some rice stuck to her cheek.

Kouha started to squish Vega's cheeks.

"How could you possibly eat so much food?"

"Ah, well, I'm hungry so… I needed to eat something. I guess I have a fast metabolism too."

Kouha pouted, took the majority of peaches and left the room.

"What are you doing?" Vega was jolted by the closeness of Kouen. The man had taken the piece of rice of her cheek.

"It's not as if you left any for me." Kouen commented. "So I suppose I'll have to make do with this." Then proceeded to eat the grain of rice.

Solomon, what was this man trying to do? Find her weaknesses? Though she must say, that attempt at flirting was quite… awkward. Who ate rice off of a person's cheek? Certainly not anybody normal.

But two could play at that game. And Solomon knew that she could do it a hell of a lot better.

Kouen had taken one of the few peaches that Kouha had left for them and began to eat it. Vega approached from behind and ran her pale fingers up Kouen's arm. She slowed her pace down a bit and torturously dragged her fingers up his right arm until she reached the hand that held the peach. Her hand just fit all the way around Kouen's wrist. She pushed the peach to her mouth, Kouen's hand along with it.

"The peach is quite sweet." Vega took a bite from the exact same place that Kouen did. "Juicy as well. Are they fresh from the gardens?" Juice dribbled down her chin as she flicked her tongue out to catch the juices. Violet eyes gazed into red.

A fire began to burn in Kouen's eyes.

Vega sent a silent prayer to Solomon that she would be safe. And thanked and cursed Sheba, Arba, and Hakuei for those seduction books that they had gotten her hooked on.

The pressure of her grip on his hand was released and Vega floundered, looking for an excuse.

"I'm going to go...explore. Have fun translating!" Vega picked her bag up and pranced out the door.

I feel like this ending was a little forced, and I'm rather disappointed with it. When I originally wrote it, it was a stand alone scene, just like the omake two chapters ago. Then I tried to connect it and this happened.

In any case, the major editing has been done, so any old readers might want to go back to the prologue and reread. Chapter 3 and 4 remain unedited, but who knows, I might go back to edit them one day. Since this is chapter 5(Yay, a semi- accomplishment) I'm going to do shoutouts and replies to reviews. If you're not interested, just move on~

Thanks to those who favorited and followed(If you see your name twice, congrats, you did both)

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Replies to reviews:

Raygha Raikouga: Thanks so much! I hope you enjoyed the new prologue that I put up and one day I will finish, no matter how long it takes me

Tsuki(guest):LOL your english is probably better than mine even though I'm a native speaker. It's very admirable that you're learning another language. In any case, yeah this story was all thought up from a 'what-if'...

Cookies(guest): Thanks for all of the reviews! I'm glad that you like my story

xtruthxliex: Do you watch HunterXHunter? IDk that's the first thing I thought of when I saw the 'x's separating your name... Thanks for the compliments

Guest(obviously guest): Your 'rambling(it really wasn't) review was really helpful. I'm so glad that you reviewed and told me about this so that way if I do another story I can incorporate that. I think for this story, it might work better if the characters were mostly under the illusion that other dungeons weren't raised before that, though the other djinns that Vega will encounter might have been raised multiple times.

Sena-chan: It was really helpful that you told me this, or else everybody would have been stuck with two of the same chapters for a while... Thanks!

LunaEris9: I like Vega too, though I'm finding it harder and harder to keep her in character... oh noes. Somebody will have to tell me whenever I screw stuff up.

Alexandta27: saaaammme TBH I want to have polygamy, but then no because both Kouen and Sinbad are pretty possessive, at lest that's what i feel. I'm probably going to end up making it happen though, because I'm the author and this is a fictional world!

Onepiecelover4ever: I read your story before you deleted most of it! It was really good, but back then I didn't have an account to review... Rip... thanks for reviewing!

End of really really long authors note. Sorry that you had to suffer through it, and if you read it all, congrats to you.