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DD - Chapter 55 - The Aftermath
🕑 Added 2024-12-09 18:42:08 +0000 UTCAs soon as my projection booth opened, Kass practically jumped on me, pulling me into a tight hug. “You won! I knew you would. How did it feel?”
“Shouldn’t you still be in your booth? The match just ended,” I replied, surprised by her sudden appearance.
“If Narhas HAD defeated you, she still had to defeat Chelsea and Bea before she got to me, so I had time to get back. I didn’t doubt you for a second though,” Kas replied, with a huge smile on her face. “Stop avoiding the question, how do you feel?”
I sat up, and took a moment to gather my thoughts before replying. “I feel fine, I guess. A little hungry maybe?” I said with a shrug. Across the room George growled in agreement.
Kass frowned. “That’s it? You defeated one of the family members that tortured you through your childhood, then came halfway across the continent to challenge and embarrass you,” she said. “You should feel proud!”
“I was certainly nervous going into it,” I admitted as I hopped off the bed, “but just before we fought I had a realization. Even though Narhas sees me as some sort of competition, or barrier to advancement back home, that’s not my problem anymore. Here at the manor she’s just another adventurer I have to defeat, nothing more.”
“So you don’t feel any sense of accomplishment for defeating her?” Kass asked suspiciously. “Really?”
“Well, maybe a little,” I admitted, cracking a tiny smile. “She and my other sisters picked on me for years, so of course it felt satisfying for the shoe to be on the other foot for once, but I meant what I said earlier… Now that I’m here, and away from the depths, their opinions and posturing, isn’t important anymore.”
“Good! That’s a healthy way to look at things,” Kass declared as she snaked her arm around mine. “If you’re hungry then we should head directly to the cafeteria. I had them whip up a small victory feast to celebrate your eventual victory!”
“What if I had lost,” I asked suspiciously as she dragged me out of the projection room.
“Then we would have had a large meal, and alcohol, for you to help you get over it,” Kass replied cheekily.
I giggled as the two of us made our way through the atrium, and over towards the residential area. Every once in a while we’d pass someone who either clapped lightly, or congratulated me on my victory. With each new person, my blush got a little deeper.
“Did the entire dungeon know that Narhas was my sister, and this was a grudge match?” I whispered to Kass.
“Do you know how many people witnessed your confrontation in the atrium? I wouldn’t be surprised if the entire city wasn’t aware of the situation.”
“I really hope that’s not true,” I groaned. “I don’t think I could handle all that attention.”
Kass snorted. “Please. You already had everyone’s attention after leading the Manor to a victory in the Duel match. The locals are already your fans, and watching you defeat that haughty sister of yours probably just brought them all a sense of satisfaction.” Even though I attempted to slow down, in order to absorb all that information, Kass didn’t let me. Instead she pulled me directly into the cafeteria, and towards our regular table at the back.
Bella was already there, sitting in front of a massive table extension full of food, along with Calliope, Luther, and Jenkins.
“How did you get here so fast?” I asked her blankly.
“I came here right after ejecting from my pod,” Bella replied proudly. “I knew what Kass was planning, and didn’t want to get in her way, so I slipped out. Congratulations by the way!”
The others echoed her declaration, causing me to blush once again. “Thanks, but it’s not a big deal,” I muttered.
“I disagree,” Luther declared. “The shadow of your family has haunted you for weeks, we’ve all seen it. After that match, your steps seem… lighter. Like you’re less encumbered by the past.”
“You’re not wrong,” I admitted. “But that has less to do with the victory, and more to do with the realization that my family doesn’t control me anymore.”
“Way to go!” Calliope declared, quite loudly, before taking a very long swig of some sort of wine sitting in front of her. I couldn’t help but notice she swayed a little when she placed the cup back down.
“How long have you been sitting here?” I asked the siren.
“Ever since the match started! Kassy wanted to make sure everything went perfectly for your victory meal, so I’ve been keeping an eye on things,” Calliope admitted.
I raised an eyebrow and turned towards Kass, but she refused to look me in the eye. Instead, she was looking at Calliope with concern. “How many glasses of wine have you had?” she asked.
“ZERO! I don’t drink, you know that I can’t hold my liquor,” Calliope replied. “Had a couple glasses of the juice you ordered though.” She reached out for one of the pitchers on the table, but was intercepted by Kass, who took the pitcher she was reaching for and replaced it with a different one.
“That was the wine, this one is the berry juice,” she said sternly.
Calliope glanced between the two pitchers in confusion for a moment, before hanging her head. “Awww… I’m going to feel terrible tomorrow.”
“Don’t worry girl,” a voice declared from behind me. I turned to find Charlotte, Chelsea and Bea coming in, Gunther a few steps behind them. The Dulihan held up his head so he could look the drunk girl in the eye. “We’ll get you plenty of food and water before the night is done, you’ll be fine.”
“Why are you two still standing here?” Chelsea asked as she passed Kass and I. “Sit down, It’s a celebration!”
I nodded numbly and found a place to sit near the end of the table. Before I’d even had a chance to settle in, a long hairy limb shot up and grabbed the plate of chicken sitting nearby and yanked it under the table. Normally I would have berated my arachnid partner for his lack of manners, but as the others had said, it was a celebration. “Just make sure you share that with Toto,” I grumbled under my breath. A low purr echoed out from under the table in response.
While the others settled down, Kass brought over a couple plates filled with various foods. “I got you a little bit of everything you like,” she said, settling in next to me.
“Thanks!” I whispered, before cutting a large slice of mushroom, and popping it into my mouth. It was heavenly.
We ate, and chatted merrily for a few minutes, before Charlotte came over and sat in the chair across from me, a serious look on her face. “Are you planning on seeing your sister before she leaves?” she asked quietly. It was obvious by her tone she was trying to avoid ruining the atmosphere for everyone else.
I saw Kass glance my way in concern before I answered. “Do you think I should?”
Charlotte grabbed a small bit of diced potato and popped it into her mouth before replying. “You seem to be good with everything that happened, but I think if you really want to put all this to rest, you’re going to have to talk to Narhas before she goes back to the depths. There’s a difference between being comfortable with the situation, and getting closure,” Charlotte explained. “I know you, and you like to overthink things, and I think unless you do everything you can to settle things, you’ll regret it later.”
I didn’t reply immediately, I still had a mouth full of chicken and that gave me a few moments to think before answering. “And if she doesn’t want to talk?” I asked quietly.
“Then at least you can be satisfied with the knowledge that you tried, and it’s your sister who refused to talk. That’s better than spending the next few months wondering if you could have talked it out in the end.”
As I nodded lightly, Kass cut in. “But only if you want to!” she declared. “You don’t owe that family of yours anything, so only go find her if you want to. And if you DO go find her, I’m going to be right there with you. No way I’m leaving you with that garbage alone,” Kass hissed.
Her outburst caught the attention of a couple others so I took another bite of chicken and waved them away. This wasn’t anything for them to worry about.
“From what I’ve heard my sister and her entourage are leaving sometime late tomorrow. I’ll head over to their hotel and have a talk to her before then,” I declared quietly.
“You know your sister’s schedule?” Charlotte asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I memorized it, when I was still panicking about confronting her,” I admitted. “As a way to help cope with the situation. If I knew where she was going to be, I didn’t have to worry about randomly running into her.” Charlotte’s eyebrows rose a little at that revelation. “Now that I’ve had time to work through my feelings, I think you’re right, I should talk to her.” Kass opened her mouth to disagree, but I cut her off. “If I don’t, I’ll just be left wondering, like Charlotte said. It’ll just be a couple minutes, in a public place, so she wont be able to do anything to me. The worst she can do is say no.”
“If you say so,” Kass replied, obviously unconvinced.
I nodded again, while finishing my drumstick. A little closure to end Narhas’s visit really did sound good.
