Loud, musical tings resonated through the small clearing as metal violently struck crystal, each impact producing a distinctive chime. Liliene had hardened her blood into a makeshift sword and deflected Nex’s real one.
“You should be more versatile, Princess,” Nex said while assaulting Liliene with quick jabs and feints, the repeated clashes ringing out like distant bells. “Not just a sword; think about a shape that would surprise your foes.”
Liliene frowned. Her sword, locked against Nex’s, morphed into a sickle. The sudden lack of resistance made Nex’s blade crash against Liliene’s weapon at an awkward angle. Liliene recoiled from the force of the impact.
“Surprise your foes, not yourself.”
Lili rubbed the back of her head. “It’s hard to do it while I’m moving. I can’t focus on everything at the same time.”
“Your mother said the same thing,” Nex said, nodding. “She stayed mostly static while fighting, and preferred to overwhelm her enemies with range.”
“Hm. Later. First, I need to actually beat you in a swordfight,” Lili said, sporting a cocky grin.
“Tough luck, Princess. I was fighting for my life when I was younger than you are.”
Liliene hardened her blood into a blade once more, focusing on making it as thin as possible.
“Still trying to copy Luna?”
Liliene nodded. “I understand the structure and how to make it hard. But I just can’t visualize it. Not the thickness.”
“She was built to be a weapon, and her knowledge far eclipses ours. I honestly don’t think it can be replicated.”
“Don’t say that. Mama’s not a weapon.”
Nex gave her Lili a gentle smile. Her hand was on Liliene’s cheek before Nex realized it. “You resemble Theresa a little more with each passing day, Lili.”
Liliene let it happen, her eyes widening. “Do you miss her?”
“Yes…”
Wearing a grin, Liliene jumped on Nex, hugging her tightly. “Well, you have me now! I look like her, right?”
Nex didn’t answer. It wasn’t as simple after all. But for now, grief remained a foreign concept to Liliene. May it last.
The bout resumed. Lili didn’t duck or dodge; she met every strike from Nex head-on, betting everything on the stupid plan she’d made on the fly. Keeping up with Nex’s speed was already a challenge in itself, one she barely met; for now, every parry was a hard-fought trial that left her hand numb.
Then, Liliene saw it: her opening. Nex’s blade fell in a downward strike. Lili feinted to block it, only to let her blade melt. The lack of any impact made Nex stumble forward. By the time Nex regained her footing, quick as the recovery was, Liliene had reformed her blade next to Nex’s neck.
“Well done, Princess.” Every trace of combative spirit was gone. All that was left in Nex was a conflicted pride, like a mother bird watching her fledgling take flight for the first time. Nex looked at Liliene, who was stretching with a contented hum. Her princess was a young woman now. A striking one at that.
Lili pulled back the blood inside her body, looked at the puddle she had sacrificed, now spilled on the ground, and frowned. “Yikes.” She didn’t feel like getting that part back.
“I’m a bit dizzy. Can we take a break?”
Nex acquiesced and gave Lili a few sandwiches she had prepared in advance.
“It was a good move, but you sacrificed too much. Just in case, you should keep some food with you at all times. Especially if you can’t take blood from the source.”
Liliene gave a noncommittal hum, lost in thought. She had never bitten anyone, not since Laura. Not that she had many opportunities. Luna made sure they stayed invisible this time around. Her interactions with people were more than limited.
“Do you think I could drink yours?”
Nex shrugged and tugged her collar down to expose her throat. “I’d venture you could. Do you want to try?”
Nex’s throat. Liliene gulped. She bet it would be so easy to pierce her skin. To sink her fangs deep into her flesh and take a gulp.
“...ili.”
Would Nex whimper? Or would she give Liliene easy access? Do demons taste good? She was so curious.
“Lili?”
“Oh.” Liliene shook her head, then forced a smile. “Thank you, Nex. Maybe… another time.”
Liliene didn’t remember anything about her first bite. No taste, no bloodlust like what she had just experienced. Was it because she had been too young? In passing, she wondered what her friend was doing and whether she still lived in that small village.
“Are you thinking about her again?” Nex asked gently.
“Hm.” Liliene nodded.
“Humans are fickle, Lili,” Nex said, wrapping her arm around Liliene’s waist to bring her closer. “It’s been years. Their lives barely last. They live faster than we do.”
“Remind me, how old are you again?” Liliene asked, narrowing her eyes playfully.
“Thirty-three. But that’s beside the point. While I’m still just a maiden, there are some things we just know.” Her grip tightened a fraction around Liliene’s waist. “You should find someone closer to your own life expectancy.”
“Ah, yes. The famous wisdom of the very old thirty-three-year-old maiden.”
“You… You’re growing cheeky, Princess. Shall our next spar be at night?”
When Nex claimed part of the shadows as her domain and moved at will all around it, she was terrifying. Lili laughed out loud. “Yeah… No thanks.”
“But I know,” Lili said, circling back to Laura, resting her head against Nex’s shoulder. “It’s stupid, and we were just kids.”
Nex couldn’t exactly blame Lili for not moving on. She hadn’t grown up around other people her age, and surely, her only friend from back then still held a precious spot in Lili’s lonely heart. “I’m sorry, Lili. That we couldn’t give you a better life.”
“No.” Liliene shook her head weakly and nuzzled against her big sister. “I’m happy.”
They ate while making small talk, then trained for the better part of the afternoon, and when the sun started setting, made their way back home.
This home, she had to admit, was well-hidden. First, the cave’s entrance lay behind thick bushes that Luna insisted on keeping. Then they had to crawl their way through tunnels too low for them, especially now that Lili was taller than Nex, and finally pass the thick metal door, which opened only to their palms.
While their previous home looked like a small shelter made of nothing but the bare necessities, this one was the opposite in size. It ran deep, its lowest level connected to a labyrinth of galleries that Lili never dared to explore beyond a few hundred meters. She had asked her mother what the purpose of the place had been. Luna had called it a relay and emergency CC. Whatever that meant.
“Mama! We’re back.”
Luna sat on a wall-integrated couch, facing a table, her eyes closed and her back straight. Her eyes opened and refocused at the sound of Lili’s voice.
“I finally won against Nex today!”
Reading Luna’s facial expressions had always been a challenge. And right now, Lili was convinced that her mother was giving her a gentle smile.
“Lili, come here,” Luna said, patting the spot next to her on the couch. When Lili obeyed with a curious glance, Luna took her hand and pressed her own against it, aligning their fingers together. The same kind of light that opened the door of their home ran between their hands. “Starting today, you are the sole owner and administrator of model BA005. Codename Luna. What are your orders for that model?”
“Mama?” Lili tilted her head, frowning. “What are you saying?” She couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was off. “Model? Admi-ni-strator? You’re just my mom.”
“Acknowledged. The assistant will persist in the role of mother.” She then let go of Lili’s hand and gave her a motherly smile. “You won against Nex? I’m proud of you,” Luna said while ruffling Lili’s hair.
Liliene beamed and let her head rest against Luna’s shoulder. “Yes! I tried to copy your blade, but I can’t make it as thin as you. Will you show me again?”
“This will prove difficult. Battery level is estimated at less than 0.3%.”
Nex, who was cooking whatever she could with their sparse ingredients, froze.
“I will shut down to minimal power output to preserve memories.”
“Mama?” Lili, despite having been told that this day might come, shook her mother. “You can’t! I… I need you! I’m still stupid, I barely understand half of what you taught me and—”
Luna blinked as she reviewed memories. Theresa’s life, Malachar’s last words. She smiled again at Lili, sadder this time, and slowly pressed her finger against Liliene’s cheek, which still held some of its childhood roundness. “Now you do look like her.”
The room went still, as if frozen in time.
“Mama? Mama!” Liliene shook Luna’s body to no avail.
Nex’s hand settled on Liliene’s shoulder. “Lili… She’s sleeping.”
“No!” She shook Luna harder. “She can’t! She… She can’t…”
Liliene let all of her weight fall against Nex and sobbed. She stayed against the last person she had left for hours, grabbing Nex’s clothes with all her might. Her body shook like a leaf, and she cried until she fell asleep.
She opened her eyes and came to her senses with her head against Nex’s thighs. Fingers were gently combing through her hair.
“Nex. What should I do?” she asked weakly, not feeling courageous enough to look to her side, at her mother’s sleeping body.
“What do you want to do, Lili? I’ll follow you wherever you go.”
She didn’t answer right away and instead fiddled with the golden medallion dangling around her neck. Her mind, weak and foggy, tried to remember everything she knew about her mother, her past, her goals, every tidbit she had learned from the doll herself. There was one thing she could do. One thing nobody had ever managed to do.
Liliene stood up and bit her lip when she saw her mother’s body, in the same spot and same position in which she had left her. Slipping her arms carefully under Luna, Liliene lifted her mother’s body. She was surprisingly light. Her walk was silent and solemn as she carried Luna to her room.
Nex watched the whole scene and stayed silent, neither protesting nor offering her help. She felt that any action would break Lili’s resolve.
After having laid Luna’s body in her own bed, Liliene finally looked at Nex. Tears flowed freely down Lili’s cheeks, yet she held a smile. “I’m going to recharge Mama.”
Nex nodded. “Even your father never managed that feat.”
“I know. To be honest, I don’t even know where to start. I’m going to need someone who understands artifacts and technology better than I do.”
Nex nodded again and smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “You really can’t let go of her, can you?”
Lili stood taller. “I’m going to see my girlfriend.”
“Then… We should prepare for a trip.”
Nex had been Liliene’s big sister and surrogate mother for years, but it was time to take up an old mantle as well. Right now, despite spouting utter nonsense, Lili had the confidence of a queen, and Nex was ready to be a blade.
“Say, Nex,” Liliene said timidly, realizing how weak her plan was. “Do you know anyone who could help us?”
“No,” Nex answered despite the image of a pink-haired annoyance briefly flashing in her mind. With some luck, that woman hadn’t survived. “Luna always tried to avoid survivors. To this day, I still don’t know who made it and who didn’t.”
“Why?”
“You’re still a Princess, Lili. She feared people would have used your survival to wage a war we would have lost.”
When Liliene’s head fell against Nex’s shoulder, she gently rubbed her back. Her queen, for all her forced confidence, was still just a grieving girl. They stayed side by side, looking at Luna’s sleeping form.
“What should we do? Do you think it’s okay to leave her here? I… feel like I’m abandoning her.”
“It’s well hidden. And forcing that door wouldn’t be easy. I’ll seal the galleries, just in case. We don’t know where they lead,” Nex said.
“I’ll pack my stuff,” Liliene said, yet didn’t move for a while. “I love you, Mama,” she said to the immobile doll, then hugged Nex. “I love you, too, Nex.”
Liliene left the room to prepare.
Watching Luna, Nex stayed behind until her mask of composure cracked. They had never truly connected, but they had both done their best to raise and provide for the baby they had fled with. Liliene’s life probably hadn’t been perfect, but she had reached adulthood safe and loved.
“Thanks for your hard work, Luna. Sleep well.”