tampered | log; ongoing

When; 5th April, Friday afternoon.
Rating; G? PG-13?
Characters; Esther [

innocent_ly] and Dietrich [

evilsincebirth]
Summary; Esther is lost in the wilds and Dietrich, being the ~~manipulative brat~~ gentleman, has come to retrieve his favorite puppet.
Log;

Esther had no idea where she was, except for the fact that she was not in the Vatican anymore. The gloomy surroundings and the dark, forbidding trees that blocked out the sunlight were a vast difference to that of the neatly trimmed and well-kept gardens within the Vatican.

What had happened? Esther remembered chasing after Father Nightroad and tripping, by the time she got up, she was already here. At first, Esther thought it was a joke that someone played on her, or maybe she fell and hit her head on something and that this was just a dream; but her nose throbbed and she doubted that one felt any pain in a dream. So this was real then.

At the thought, she felt a knot in her stomach. This was not Roma anymore, Esther was not sure where she was, but she could not just sit here and do nothing. Not that she would stay in this place any longer than necessary. The place was creepy, it was too quiet. A loud thud startled the sister and sent her panicking once more. She would have been much less jumpier if only she had a gun with her. What happen if it was a dryad like the last time?

Another thud echoed through the forest and Esther decided that she did not want to stay and find out what it was. She ran towards the ocean.

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The soft rustle of the grass in Esther's transmission gave Dietrich a clue that his beloved puppet wasn't in the City. There were few full green areas: the lake, the forest and the gardens.

He gave Esther more credit than become frightened of a lake or beautiful gardens.

Sweet doll, so lost deep in the woods?

Dietrich looked for her all the day long without success. Where was she? He wouldn't be happy if a wild animal got her without his consent. Finally, resigned, he headed to the seashore, hoping that the sister had strayed her way on the opposite side.

His lips curled up to the lovely sight that was his fearful, lost Esther. Always begging for guidance.

"Lost again, Esther?" he asked, cruel features vanishing into beautifully angelic ones. Dietrich was the picture of innocence outside. "Let me help you."

Though the shoreline looked as though she could reach it in six or so steps, but everything Estherthought she was about to be free of the woods, a tree was in her way. It took her about half an hour (it was more likely closer to ten, but it certainly felt much longer to her) or so to finally manage to set foot on the soft sands of the beach.

Esther stopped, trying to catch her breath when she heard a familiar voice. She looked at the direction of the voice, eyes widening as she realized who it was.

“Di-Dietrich,” she said in surprise. Esther knew that he was in this… this City, whatever it was called, but she never thought that she would see him again so soon. Five months was too soon to get over Dietrich’s betrayal.

Dietrich approached her slowly. He wasn't dressed in the Rozen Kreuz Orden uniform, but rather in casual, black clothes that were similar to the wardrobe he had wore during their time together.

He stopped, keeping a safe distance in case she decided to shoot him, and smiled faintly.

"Did you miss me, Esther? I have."

She bit her lower lip as he approached her. Esther knew she could not win him if it comes down to it, but the other did not seem interested in a fight. Then again, she could not tell what was on Dietrich’s mind.

Even knowing that he was someone that she should not trust, his smile calmed her down a little. Dietrich was always in control; he always has a plan ready. Unwittingly, she was slowly being pulled into his web once more.

“Y- No, not at all!”

She could not tell whether he was lying or telling her the truth.

"You are lying," observed Dietrich, venturing closer. He looked hurt, but he truly wasn't. "Haven't you ever thought of me in all this time?" He wasn't sure from when Esther was. Did she met that Methusaleah brat yet?

He reached for her hand, trying to grasp it. "Are you cold? The wind is chilly in the shore." He took out his black coat, offering the harmless article to Esther.

"Take it."

What did he want her to say? That she missed the time they spent together? After what he did? Esther missed the Dietrich she knew, not this Dietrich that was standing before her. “Maybe… a little,” she admitted, looking down at her feet. She made no motions to pull her hands away.

No matter what she told herself, she could not bring herself to hate the other. Every time she thought of him, she only felt hurt from his betrayal.

Now that he mentioned it, Esther felt slightly chilly, but she would not let the other know It was just a minor discomfort, one she could ignore for now. “I am just fine, thank you.”

A little?

Mmmm~~ Esther was beautifully innocent. He wanted to toy with her all the time. It never got boring when she was around him.

"You are shaking," Dietrich said softly. If she was trembling or not did not matter. It was all an elaborate game he had to show himself as a gentleman and wrap her slim shoulders with his coat.

“Thank… you,” she said, blushing. Esther did not realize that it was that obvious to the other that she was cold.

Then she remembered her earlier ‘messages’. From what one Mr. Vash said, she was no longer in Roma… then what was this place? Dietrich may know since he did mention it. Esther hesitated for a moment, her companion may feed her half-truths. Once burned, twice shy, but if she never asked, she would never know.

“Dietrich… would you happen to know where is this place?”

"Anything for you, Esther," Dietrich murmured, his hands lingering on her shoulders, amused by the blush gracing her cheeks. He removed them and listened to his question.

That was a hard one to lie. Good thing the truth was even better than a lie when speaking about this lunatic City they had been sucked in. Dietrich was finding the puppets and dollhouse rather boring after several weeks.

"Well~ That's easy to explain but hard to believe," he started, inhaling air to prepare himself for a long explanation. "This is a City between dimensions with an evil merry go round that is the mechanism for the End of the Worlds; that is the ticking you listened before I arrived, the countdown. Amusing, no? There are almost no way out. I would have found one to return to you, if there was an available exit."

The sister did not notice the hands at all, or maybe she was so used to it that it did not even register that the touch was longer than necessary.

Esther listened quietly as her companion spoke. It was as he said; it was something that was hard, if not impossible to explain. Coupled with the messages she received earlier in the forest, the redhead wondered if she had hit her head hard when he fell and this… this dream was the result of it. It has to be a dream. Right?

“You- you are lying to me again,” she took a step back from Dietrich.

Dietrich looked sad for being called a liar when he was actually telling the truth. He shook his head lightly and reached to grab her left wrist with his right hand.

"Why would I like about this, dear Esther?" he questioned, capturing her blue eyes with his brown ones. "There is nothing I could gain from that lie."

The hurt look on his face took her by surprise. Esther had expected Dietrich to come up with another one of his explanations. She found it hard to believe him, but he seemed like he was genuinely telling her the truth… especially when he looked at her straight in the eye. Everybody knew that liars avert their eyes when they lie.

“I- I am sorry… but this- this is rather hard to believe.”

Dietrich clasped his hand behind Esther's back, moving to lead her toward the City direction.

"You will believe when you see the City beyond the trees. You don't have anything to lose, Esther." He drew his face closer to her ear, whispering: "If I wanted I could make your body follow me, but I love you too much to do such thing."

No she did not. She was rather… alone in this place. The only other people she knew was here either than Dietrich, that is, was the Duchess of Milan and Father Tres Iqus and she had no idea where they were. Dietrich seemed to know this… City quite well.

The threat brought her back to reality. She almost thought that Dietrich was the Dietrich she thought she knew. She gave the puppet master a glare, “I can walk myself just fine.”

log; ongoing

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