FIC: Murder at Blood Pledge Castle (Chapter 01: So It Starts)
Title: Murder at Blood Pledge Castle (Chapter 01: So It Starts)
Author: Batty_Gal a.k.a Tetra26
Rating: T (violence/character deaths)
Fandom: Kyou Kara Maou
Pairing: None (at this point)
Word Count: 1223
Fic Type: Ongoing Mystery/Thriller
Summary: A malicious killer starts to run rampant around Blood Pledge Castle, his motives unknown. With Shinou missing, and no other easy way to determine the killer, relationships become strained as all evidence points toward a certain person. Character Deaths.
Murder at Blood Pledge Castle
by Tetra26/Batty Gal
Chapter 1: So It Starts
Torrents of rain poured down outside as three maids sat at a table, casually playing a classic Shin Makoku card game.
"I wish it wouldn't rain so hard," Doria sighed as she played the Kohi card, causing Sangria to groan in defeat.
"Damn, just when I was about to go out!" she exclaimed, pouting as she plucked seven cards from the deck.
"Has anyone seen Effie? She was supposed to play with us tonight! This game would be so much more fun if we could play partners," Lasagna said, playing the Voltaire wild card.
Doria sighed. "I don't have any of that suit. Like I needed anymore cards in my hand!" she said, and plucked one card. "Lucky!" she cried, and played the eighth of Voltaire.
"Come to think about it, I haven't seen her since right before it started to rain.”
“Maybe she went to bed already?”
“Who knows?”
Just then, another maid walked in. “Have any of you seen Effie? I gave her an apron that I accidentally ripped and she was supposed to be mending it for me. I've looked all over for her.”
“She's not in bed?” asked Lasagna.
“No, and no one has seen her since this afternoon.”
“The last I saw her, she was going to get the laundry in because she thought it might rain.”
“Same here.”
“I wonder where she could possibly be?”
“Oh well, I'll keep looking around,” the young maid said with a sigh. The three remaining maids watched as she exited.
“She'll probably show up soon,” Doria said.
“Maybe she's spending time with that soldier that she's been talking to a lot lately?” Sangria said, a mischievous glint to her eye. “After all, they were talking earlier.”
“Or maybe she' s spending time with His Majesty,” Lasagna said, and laughed. “I haven't missed the way he's been looking at her lately.”
“Oh my! I wonder if Sir von Bielefeld has noticed?” Doria asked.
“He has! I saw him chewing her out yesterday. She was almost in tears. She would be extremely stupid to even attempt to go for the Maou as long as he's around!”
“I don't think she's even interested in the Maou, but I agree. Lately, if someone even looks at the Maou, it sets him off.”
“Lately? Where have you been? He's always been like that!”
“Point taken. Now play a card!”
After the rain became nothing more than a drizzle, Dakaskos left the barn in search of a bag he lost.
He had went out earlier to gather some herbs for Gisela, but once it started raining quite hard, he had lost them in his haste to get out of the downpour. He hoped that they were where he suspected they were, and that no one had taken his bag.
He walked towards a large fountain on the North side of the Castle, his mind on what Gisela's reaction would be if he didn't come back with them. He rounded a row of hedges, and sighed in relief.
Just as he thought, his bag with the herbs in it was where he suspected he dropped it. He went over beside the fountain to reach down to pick it up, but a slight movement from behind the fountain statue caught his eye.
He walked around to see what it was, his bag temporarily forgotten. As he stared at the mangled form in front of him, bile rose up in the back of his throat, preventing his scream.
The only thing he could do was run.
And he did.
He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, unable to think properly.
He ran until he bumped into one Günter von Krist, and fell backwards due to colliding with the man. As Günter reached down to help him up, it was only then that he remembered to scream.
Günter looked down at the screaming man, confused about it all.
Sure, there were plenty of people who screamed when they saw him, but usually not in horror.
At least, not like that.
Not even His Majesty.
“Dakaskos, what's wrong?” he asked, noting how the man was now shaking with what appeared to be terror.
The man stopped screaming, but continued to shake and rock himself backwards and forwards.
Günter was alarmed at the sight, and dropped to his knees beside the man, steadying him with his hands. “What's wrong? What's happened?”
The bald man let out a low moan of agony, and pointed towards the North. “Fountain.”
“Fountain?”
The traumatized man nodded and said nothing else, and just continued to shake, rock and moan.
Günter heard several footsteps, and watched as several guards and soldiers approached.
“What in the world's going on? I heard someone screaming?” one of the guards said to Günter as they formed a circle around him.
Günter watched as they looked down at the shaking man that he was now holding. “It was him. He ran into me, and started to scream. He pointed that way--” he said, showing them, “--and the only thing he said was 'Fountain.'.”
“Fountain,” Dakaskos said in a monotonous voice. “Fountain. Blood. Dead.”
The other men standing out there looked at him, their faces showing a mixture of confusion and alarm.
Günter pointed at one guard. “You there! Take him to Gisela! The rest of you, come with me!”
As Günter and the guards rounded the corner towards the fountain that Dakaskos had pointed at, they saw what it was that had made the man scream.
A naked corpse was tied to the fountain with what appeared to be torn bedsheets, its pose mimicking the statue it was bound to in a macabre fashion.
A body; bruised and drenched with rain and diluted blood.
A body; its entrails spilling out unceremoniously where whoever had done this to it had hacked it open.
A body; its face brutally carved up beyond recognition.
It would be a few hours before that body would be identified as belonging to Effie, the maid.
A man looked down at the amulet he was holding, his hard eyes betraying the smile on his face.
“You'll never get away with this,” the face in the amulet said, coldly.
“Of course I will,” he said, his voice taunting.
“When I get out of here-”
“You'll never get out of there, at least not in my lifetime. You're stuck there, almighty King,” the man spat.
“My Daikenja will-”
“-be dealt with, if necessary, Shinou. In the meantime, I'm going to fully enjoy making you watch as I destroy the lives of the people you care about the most.”
At that moment, a scream rang through the air. “Looks like my first kill has been discovered!” he said with glee.
He walked over to where he had earlier sat down a metal box with a lock, and gently placed the amulet within it, ignoring the protests he received.
“If you'll excuse me, I have to make my presence known and show how 'horrified' I am at these turn of events,” he said with a smirk, and closed the top.
He locked it, and placed it away from prying eyes before sauntering outside to put on his best act of being confounded.
Author's note: This is different from my usual lighthearted fics. Since I love mystery and suspense, I figured “Why not explore it in KKM?” There will be character deaths and near-deaths - some major, some minor. Also, there are no planned pairings for this fic - but who knows what may crop up. And, unlike my other fics, I'm writing this one as I go along - which means more sporadic updates.
Author: Batty_Gal a.k.a Tetra26
Rating: T (violence/character deaths)
Fandom: Kyou Kara Maou
Pairing: None (at this point)
Word Count: 1223
Fic Type: Ongoing Mystery/Thriller
Summary: A malicious killer starts to run rampant around Blood Pledge Castle, his motives unknown. With Shinou missing, and no other easy way to determine the killer, relationships become strained as all evidence points toward a certain person. Character Deaths.
Murder at Blood Pledge Castle
by Tetra26/Batty Gal
Chapter 1: So It Starts
Torrents of rain poured down outside as three maids sat at a table, casually playing a classic Shin Makoku card game.
"I wish it wouldn't rain so hard," Doria sighed as she played the Kohi card, causing Sangria to groan in defeat.
"Damn, just when I was about to go out!" she exclaimed, pouting as she plucked seven cards from the deck.
"Has anyone seen Effie? She was supposed to play with us tonight! This game would be so much more fun if we could play partners," Lasagna said, playing the Voltaire wild card.
Doria sighed. "I don't have any of that suit. Like I needed anymore cards in my hand!" she said, and plucked one card. "Lucky!" she cried, and played the eighth of Voltaire.
"Come to think about it, I haven't seen her since right before it started to rain.”
“Maybe she went to bed already?”
“Who knows?”
Just then, another maid walked in. “Have any of you seen Effie? I gave her an apron that I accidentally ripped and she was supposed to be mending it for me. I've looked all over for her.”
“She's not in bed?” asked Lasagna.
“No, and no one has seen her since this afternoon.”
“The last I saw her, she was going to get the laundry in because she thought it might rain.”
“Same here.”
“I wonder where she could possibly be?”
“Oh well, I'll keep looking around,” the young maid said with a sigh. The three remaining maids watched as she exited.
“She'll probably show up soon,” Doria said.
“Maybe she's spending time with that soldier that she's been talking to a lot lately?” Sangria said, a mischievous glint to her eye. “After all, they were talking earlier.”
“Or maybe she' s spending time with His Majesty,” Lasagna said, and laughed. “I haven't missed the way he's been looking at her lately.”
“Oh my! I wonder if Sir von Bielefeld has noticed?” Doria asked.
“He has! I saw him chewing her out yesterday. She was almost in tears. She would be extremely stupid to even attempt to go for the Maou as long as he's around!”
“I don't think she's even interested in the Maou, but I agree. Lately, if someone even looks at the Maou, it sets him off.”
“Lately? Where have you been? He's always been like that!”
“Point taken. Now play a card!”
After the rain became nothing more than a drizzle, Dakaskos left the barn in search of a bag he lost.
He had went out earlier to gather some herbs for Gisela, but once it started raining quite hard, he had lost them in his haste to get out of the downpour. He hoped that they were where he suspected they were, and that no one had taken his bag.
He walked towards a large fountain on the North side of the Castle, his mind on what Gisela's reaction would be if he didn't come back with them. He rounded a row of hedges, and sighed in relief.
Just as he thought, his bag with the herbs in it was where he suspected he dropped it. He went over beside the fountain to reach down to pick it up, but a slight movement from behind the fountain statue caught his eye.
He walked around to see what it was, his bag temporarily forgotten. As he stared at the mangled form in front of him, bile rose up in the back of his throat, preventing his scream.
The only thing he could do was run.
And he did.
He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, unable to think properly.
He ran until he bumped into one Günter von Krist, and fell backwards due to colliding with the man. As Günter reached down to help him up, it was only then that he remembered to scream.
Günter looked down at the screaming man, confused about it all.
Sure, there were plenty of people who screamed when they saw him, but usually not in horror.
At least, not like that.
Not even His Majesty.
“Dakaskos, what's wrong?” he asked, noting how the man was now shaking with what appeared to be terror.
The man stopped screaming, but continued to shake and rock himself backwards and forwards.
Günter was alarmed at the sight, and dropped to his knees beside the man, steadying him with his hands. “What's wrong? What's happened?”
The bald man let out a low moan of agony, and pointed towards the North. “Fountain.”
“Fountain?”
The traumatized man nodded and said nothing else, and just continued to shake, rock and moan.
Günter heard several footsteps, and watched as several guards and soldiers approached.
“What in the world's going on? I heard someone screaming?” one of the guards said to Günter as they formed a circle around him.
Günter watched as they looked down at the shaking man that he was now holding. “It was him. He ran into me, and started to scream. He pointed that way--” he said, showing them, “--and the only thing he said was 'Fountain.'.”
“Fountain,” Dakaskos said in a monotonous voice. “Fountain. Blood. Dead.”
The other men standing out there looked at him, their faces showing a mixture of confusion and alarm.
Günter pointed at one guard. “You there! Take him to Gisela! The rest of you, come with me!”
As Günter and the guards rounded the corner towards the fountain that Dakaskos had pointed at, they saw what it was that had made the man scream.
A naked corpse was tied to the fountain with what appeared to be torn bedsheets, its pose mimicking the statue it was bound to in a macabre fashion.
A body; bruised and drenched with rain and diluted blood.
A body; its entrails spilling out unceremoniously where whoever had done this to it had hacked it open.
A body; its face brutally carved up beyond recognition.
It would be a few hours before that body would be identified as belonging to Effie, the maid.
A man looked down at the amulet he was holding, his hard eyes betraying the smile on his face.
“You'll never get away with this,” the face in the amulet said, coldly.
“Of course I will,” he said, his voice taunting.
“When I get out of here-”
“You'll never get out of there, at least not in my lifetime. You're stuck there, almighty King,” the man spat.
“My Daikenja will-”
“-be dealt with, if necessary, Shinou. In the meantime, I'm going to fully enjoy making you watch as I destroy the lives of the people you care about the most.”
At that moment, a scream rang through the air. “Looks like my first kill has been discovered!” he said with glee.
He walked over to where he had earlier sat down a metal box with a lock, and gently placed the amulet within it, ignoring the protests he received.
“If you'll excuse me, I have to make my presence known and show how 'horrified' I am at these turn of events,” he said with a smirk, and closed the top.
He locked it, and placed it away from prying eyes before sauntering outside to put on his best act of being confounded.
Author's note: This is different from my usual lighthearted fics. Since I love mystery and suspense, I figured “Why not explore it in KKM?” There will be character deaths and near-deaths - some major, some minor. Also, there are no planned pairings for this fic - but who knows what may crop up. And, unlike my other fics, I'm writing this one as I go along - which means more sporadic updates.