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Amelia slowly climbed the ladder. She was sure it wasn’t there when she had descended to fight the masters of this strange world, but she could never resist a mystery. She came to the top, opening a trapdoor and climbing through.
“Hello,” A cheery voice rang.
Amelia quickly jumped to a defensive mode, raising her great sword with both hands. But it wasn’t necessary.
“Wow, that was cool,” A young girl laughed as she sat kicking her feet.
“Sorry,” Amelia lowered her sword looking around. “I didn’t know anyone was up here.”
“Just me,” The girl smiled. “Same as yesterday and the day before that and the day before that, as far back as I can remember.”
“You don’t seem like the other inhabitants of this world,” Amelia slowly approached.
“I wouldn’t, because I’m a painter,” The girl said like it explained anything. She was wearing a painter’s smock and the room was filled with paintings all around the outside. Some pigment and paints were scattered around half finished paintings.
“I see,” Amelia looked around, of course she’d find a painter in a painting. That would be her luck.
“My name is Luz Noceda. What’s yours?”
“Amelia Blight. So, you just paint all day?”
“If the mood strikes me,” The girl said, she turned to a truly enormous blank canvas before her. “Mostly I wait and envision.”
“Envision what?” Amelia approached. Luz was sitting upon a chair that was on a table so they were just about eyelevel.
Luz gestured grandly to the blank canvas before her, and with awe in her voice announced, “My world…”
“Like what we’re in now?”
“Yes!” Luz looked over bright eyes and excited. “Except it won’t be so cold and harsh! My world will be gentle and warm, like when you drink some nice tea at the perfect temperature. Everyone will be welcome there!” She looked up again in excitement.
“Well, why don’t you start?” Amelia asked. Luz laughed and Amelia tilted her head in confusion, “What’s so funny?”
“I can’t start!” Luz laughed as she shook her head. “Not until my mentor brings me the pigment I need. I promised her I wouldn’t start until she brought it. That’s why I’m waiting here.” She turned back to the canvas, “But I’ll start right when Eda brings me this Bile Pigment!”
“Eda?” Amelia asked with trepidation.
“Yes, my mentor,” Luz smiled. “She goes and travels a lot so I don’t see her for months sometimes before she brings me more pigments. Maybe you’ve met her? Her name is-”
“Please! Help,” The demon weakly moaned as she crawled over the sands of dune. “The Beast has come. It has come to devour our Bile. Please!”
“Who has come? Who is this beast?” Amelia crouched down to ask, fixing the demon’s hand like hair so she could look in her eye.
“The Owl Beast!” The demon fearfully said, raising a blood covered finger back the way she came. “Eda, the Owl Lady!”
“I-I may have met her…” Amelia slowly said in shock.
“That’s wonderful!” Luz beamed, suddenly more excited. “Where was she? What was she doing?”
Amelia made her way through the dunes, following the blood trail that small demon had left. All around there was nothing but sand and occasionally the dilapidated remains of buildings, half buried.
She heard something. A ravenous sound of something devouring something else.
“She was…” Amelia chose her words carefully. “Making the pigment…”
Amelia climbed the next dune to find a massacre. Dead bodies lay scattered around a clearing, torn open and left to rot. Amelia looked around in shock at the bloody scene, it was not the worst thing she had seen in her travels but it was close.
Something shifted and a mass of feathers moved. A large clawed arm reached out towards Amelia before a massive head removed itself from the body underneath it.
The Beast looked up at Amelia with solid black eyes, blood dripping from its fangs. It howled at Amelia as she took a step back and raised her sword. The Beast jumped and flew towards the warrior, swinging an oversized claw.
“Oh, she’s so hardworking!” Luz laughed, kicking her legs. Completely carefree. “I hope she doesn’t work herself too hard.”
“…Yeah…”
Amelia jumped and rolled through the frantic swings of the Owl Beast. It was quite possibly the hardest fight of her life. The Beast screeched as Amelia swung her great sword, driving in before diving out of reach.
The Owl Beast took a few steps back and let out an ear-piercing howl, magical energy radiating from her body. Swirling around it dangerously
Amelia steeled herself as the Beast flung itself at her once more.
“She, uhh, mentioned you,” Amelia said. “Just that she was making the pigment for you.”
“Oh, that’s so nice of her. All good things I hope!” Luz laughed.
“It’s in you,” The Owl Beast huffed as the two circled. “I can smell it! Give it! Your Bile! I need it for my kids painting!”
Amelia defiantly sneered, readying her sword, “Come and get it Beast!” She dashed forward and swung.
“She actually had a breakthrough on the pigment while I was there,” Amelia stared off in the distance, remembering.
Luz didn’t seem to notice anything the matter, happy to talk about her mentor.
The Owl Beast fell, it clutched it’s side as blood fell onto the sand.
Amelia huffed out of breath, as the Beast just continued to stare at the ground. Then it started to laugh.
“Its working! This is it! Bile Blood!” The Beast laughed, clawing itself.
Amelia quickly unslung her pack and rooted around in it, pulling out some small vials. “She gave me these to me…”
The Beast slumped over, attempting to gather as much of the blood into its hands as it could. It looked around in desperation before its black eyes fell on Amelia, “You, Please! Take it! Please! To the Painting! To… my…Light…”
Its head finally dropped, still staring towards Amelia. Its hands were outstretched, held in a bowl shape in silent begging towards the warrior.
“I-I promised to bring it to you,” Amelia turned and offered the vials.
Luz visibly brightened, “THANK YOU! Amelia this is fantastic! I can’t wait to start!” She took the vials and looked to them in wonder.
Amelia cautiously approached once she was sure it wasn’t a trap, she finally dropped her guard. She looked at the blood still cupped in the creature’s hands.
It was curious. And something told Amelia she should hold onto some of it.
She rifled around in her bag and pulled out some vials.
“Is… is that going to be enough?” Amelia asked, glancing to the large canvas that rose the height of the room.
“I believe so. I just have to mix it into paint and I can create my new world!” Luz was practically bouncing in her seat. “Oh, I hope Eda likes it! Wait,” Luz stopped looking to Amelia with confusion. “Why did Eda give it to you to bring to me?”
“Uhh, she… said she had some more things to do before she could return,” Amelia quickly lied. “And that you should get working on the painting and she’ll meet you there.”
Luz watched her for a bit before smiling, “That’s so like Eda. Well, I better get to work. If it’s alright, I’d like to name it after you?”
“That would be…” Amelia forced down a wave of shame and guilt. “Wonderful, but how about Amity? It means friendship.
Luz exploded into a bright grin, “That’s perfect! Thank you!”
“Of course, kid,” Amelia slowly moved towards the ladder and started to descend.
“I’ll never forget you, Amelia! Thank you so much!”
Amelia gulped, “I’ll never forget you either Luz…”
Even if it was for a completely different reason…