When Summer Dies
Chapter 5: Ketern ter Marly - the Lure of Liquid

It took Maria six moons to gather enough courage to explore the castle on her own. She’d explored it before, of course, but with either Dinna or Cerron by her side – mostly Dinna, since Cerron often was busy with all the work that came with being King –, and never alone. Besides, the Castle of Leron was so huge, with its towers, spikes, and dungeons, that it would take Maria a lifetime of exploring to discover it all.

So now she’d told Dinna that she was going on an adventure, so the girl – who had been extremely nervous when Maria left her – was waiting for her back at her bedroom. Up until now, Maria had found three bathrooms, a hidden entrance to the servant’s rooms, a conference room, a small room with bookshelves – not quite large enough to be a library – and a room with a lake inside of it.

You heard her.

She was currently staring, wide-eyed, at the room beyond the boring-looking door. The ground was rock, and half the walls were of rock, as well – but it wasn’t the kind of rock the rest of the castle was of. This was wild, and pure, and natural. Someone hadn’t cut it to fit into a puzzle.

Maria, who’d only ever been in a cave twice in her life, gaped at the vastness of the room. It seemed to go on in forever, stalactites hanging from the ceiling and sometimes connecting with stalagmites, creating both massive and impressive pillars.

The lake wasn’t a body of water. The substance within was dark, darker than the darkest night, and seemed to pull her in. Maria, intrigued, walked closer to inspect it further.

When she stretched her neck, she noticed that she had no reflection – and that it seemed bottomless, even when she knew there must be a bottom, as she was standing in the liquid, now.

It pooled around her legs, seeping through her shoes and then her socks. The hem of her dress became heavier, as well, and clung to her body like a star-struck lover.

The liquid, whatever it was, felt strange to the touch, hot and cold at the same time. Maria made a small humming noise, and now there was liquid all the way up to her knees. She wasn’t even aware that she was walking forwards, the liquid was too fascinating to notice that, and Maria was now waist deep.

She smiled, almost giddily, and giggled. What a strange feeling – almost like she was flying! She took another step into the liquid, and lifted her hand from the void to stare as the thick darkness coating her fingers trickled down her arm.

Oh, if she only could stay here forever… so fascinating, so complete, so mesmerizing – it was home and it was everything and Maria had liquid up to her chest and that was exactly what she wanted.

Suddenly, someone gave a loud cry of “Maria!” and then there was the sound of splashing behind her, before someone grabbed her arm and pulled her back, not ungently.

Maria didn’t resist the grip, and only tumbled backwards and onto shore again. The lake disappeared from her sight as a door slammed shut, and then she was staring at a face.

“Come on,” a voice whispered harshly, grabbing her shoulders and shaking lightly. The room was spinning funnily, and Maria grinned goofily as she giggled. “No,” the voice groaned, and placed a cool hand on her cheek. “Snap out of it!”

Cool skin under her fingers, tears in her eyes and a worried frown in front of her –

“-Cerron?”

“Oh, thank Gera,” Cerron breathed, releasing her and taking a step back to place a hand to his forehead. “I thought I had lost you!”

Maria blinked, and looked down on her hands. There was still that dark substance sticking to her skin, uncomfortably so, and she wrinkled her nose. What was wrong with her? Why had she just walked straight into the lake like that? Hadn’t anyone ever taught her to be cautious?

Cerron, who’d obviously saved her skin from whatever was in there, didn’t waste much time being relieved, and scowled. “Why are you roaming the castle on your own?” he snapped, and there was an edge to his voice, worried and angry and guilty.

Maria, realizing that maybe she didn’t have permission to go wherever she wished, paled and took a step backwards. “I told Dinna to leave me,” she hurried to say, when Cerron’s scowl only deepened. “It’s all my fault, please don’t be mad at me!”

Cerron looked away from her and closed his eyes, rubbing at his forehead until the scowl all but disappeared. “No,” he muttered. “It is my fault. I should have told you not to enter that room, or at least put up a warning sign.” He sighed, and shook his head. “You would not, by any chance, know what that was?”

Maria blinked. “Should I?” she asked, rubbing her arm awkwardly. The liquid, whatever it was, had left her with a chill that seemed to seep into her very bones.

“That is a no, then,” Cerron muttered. “Come. This is not a discussion to have in the middle of the hallway.” Maria nodded, even though he had turned his back to her, and hurried to follow him. “But first, you will take a bath and change your clothes. I do believe that you are freezing.”

Maria nodded, again, and didn’t even comment on the fact that the lower part of his body dripped of the same dark substance that she was drenched in.

After a quick bath and a change of clothing, Cerron made his way over to the study. He had told Maria to meet him there when she finished, and so he expected there to be quite the wait before she showed up. Remembering how long time his mother had used in the bathroom every morning, Cerron chuckled fondly to himself.

Although, of course, his mother had never felt the effects of Marlyn.

Foolish girl! Why on Undera would she put herself in that kind of situation? Didn’t she know the dangers Marly posed to other Creatures?

Well, of course she didn’t, but still. When seeing a room filled with dark, mysterious substance, the logical decision to made wouldn’t be to bathe in it, would it?

Of course not.

Cerron could not blame her, however. Maria was curious, like most Creatures, and had simply opened her door. It wasn’t her fault that Humans were particularly weak to Ketern ter Marly.

To Cerron’s great surprise, Maria was waiting for him within the study. She was staring at her lap, apparently utterly transfixed by her fingers worrying the pale blue cloth of her cotton dress. There was a worried frown marring her brow, and the muscles in her jaw were bouncing as she gritted her teeth.

Guilt tore at him at the realization that he’d made her feel like that. “My Lady,” he said smoothly, bowing ever so slightly as he entered the room and closed the door behind him.

“Cerron!” Maria yelped, looking up at him with wide eyes. “I’m sorry,” she rushed, when she gathered her wits. “I didn’t know that that – whatever it was – was dangerous, if I’d known I’d have avoided the room entirely, I swear!”

“Calm down,” Cerron soothed, sitting down in the velvet chair opposite of hers. “As I mentioned, if we are to blame anyone it should be me. I had not thought about the fact that you might not know what Marly is.”

Maria’s shoulders sagged, ever so slightly, in relief. “…Marly?” she repeated. “That sounds like Täk.”

“It is,” Cerron nodded. “It translates to Hell-Liquid, in Common.”

Maria’s mouth fell open. “That was Hell-Liquid?” she exclaimed. “I was never told it could be alluring!”

“Obviously not,” Cerron drawled, and raised an eyebrow. “What do you know of it?” It wouldn’t do anyone any good if he repeated something she already knew, after all.

“I know that it’s special to Demons, and that you have some sort of connection to it,” Maria said, frowning as she obviously tried to think of more.

Cerron sighed. “Your education is lacking terribly,” he informed her. “Very well. Most Demons are born with an Ability. There are seven Abilites; Truth; Motion; Healing; Fire; Liquid; Emotion; and Seeing.” Maria bobbed her head, and Cerron continued, quickly falling back into the role of teacher. “These Abilities allows the Demon to manipulate Marly in some way or another. The Ability of Truth allows the Demon to see when someone is lying. The Ability of Motion allows the Demon to manipulate and shape Marly. The Ability of Healing allows the Demon to heal, and so on.”

“I had no idea,” Maria whispered, and shook her head absentmindedly. There was awe in her eyes.

“I, myself, have a strong Ability of Truth,” Cerron informed her, and sat back in his chair.

“Wait, you can tell when people lie?” Maria asked, the awed sparkle dying out only for horror to take its place.

“No,” Cerron said, and frowned. Why was she horrified by that? Had she been lying a lot to him? “Let me explain. If a Demon and any kind of Creature are both in physical contact with Marly, then a faint light will surround them. Everyone can see this light. If it turns pale blue, it means that either or both is lying. If it turns red, then both speak the truth.”

Maria blinked. “That’s – that’s actually very interesting!” She sounded surprised at this admission, and Cerron laughed.

“Yes, it is. All Demons with an Ability keep Marly close by at all times,” he told her, and reached up to his neck. He tugged at the golden chain, then, and held out the small, round bottle of Marly to show her. “See, even I wear this close to my chest every day. No one knows when it will be useful.”

That awed spark was back in Maria’s eyes again, this time accompanied by an intrigued glow, so Cerron figured he might as well continue. Before he could, however, Maria spoke up with a question. “How do they come by it? The other Demons with Abilites, I mean.”

Cerron winced. “Ah, yes,” he murmured, and tucked the bottle back underneath his shirt. “That would be the Lake of Liquid, in which you nearly drowned just minutes ago.”

Maria’s face fell. “Oh,” she said. “Oh. Okay. So, do you, like… hand it out, or something?” Cerron nodded, and Maria blinked. “Oh, you do. Okay.”

“The castle was built around the Lake, so that it would be easier for the current Mïzel to have control over when and to whom Marlyn was handed out to. Besides, the people wanted someone else to have control over it, as the bottomless pits disturbed them. It is rumored to be the portal and entrance to Hell itself, which also explains the origins of the Common name.”

Maria took a few moments to take all this in, and then her brows creased in a frown. She looked up from her musings to give Cerron the look of someone deep in thought. “Is Hell real, then?” she asked, and her voice shook even though it did not.

“Frankly, my Lady,” Cerron said, and took on a grave, serious look. “I believe we are already here.”

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