Requiem walked through the halls of the majestic castle, taking in the tapestries and portraits that showed a life the young shadow mage had dreamed of at one point in her life. To her left was Jethro, "So lass, Ol' Jethro be grateful for your help couple days ago." The old man's deep voice sounded a bit like the old farmers back home...or rather her father's final resting place. She decided to not dwell on that line of thought, "I was told there was a mission that needed to be done. What of it?" Ol' Jethro tried to stifle his laughter, "ah, just like the young'uns t'be all business. Well, as you may have heard, his Lordship was deeply in love with Lady Phantasm. They were happily married for years until she died several years ago." Jethro lowered his voice, "they say the devil came for his beloved's soul. Ever since then, he has been rather melancholy and more withdrawn." Requiem noticed that there were several pictures of Lady Phantasm and stared for a moment. She could've sworn she was looking in a mirror as the portrait showed a woman with long straight black hair, pale skin and grey eyes, "well, I'll be. If I dinnae know better, I'd have thought you were her ladyship."
Wheels quickly turned in her head and it was clear on her face that a certain train of that crossed her mind, "How long ago did she die?"
"About three or four years." Ol' Jethro scratched at his beard. "How long were they married?" At this, the guard removed his helmet and scratched his head, "A long ways ago. Noble houses like ta marry them young."
Requiem bit her lip, she really hoped that this unexpected development wouldn't complicate her mission, "I guess it's true what they say, everybody has a double somewhere." She said lightly as she tried to keep her nervousness in check. That place...beyond the Worth Woodsea, was too far and she was pretty sure a child missing from a noble family would be big news. She let her face gain a mask of neutrality for her meeting with Lord Servas.

Lord Servas Phantasm cut quite an imposing figure. The man was easily six foot tall plus change she bowed, "Rune Knight Requiem, as requested milord." Ol' Jethro said with a tone of formality, "thank you for your service, you may return to your post." The old man bowed again and left.

Lord Servas Phantasm stared at Requiem for a few moments. She wasn't sure how to act and held her arm as she blushed and looked away, "It's rather intriguing that you look so much like her." He waved his hand, "Anyway. I have a task for you." He drew himself up and walked to face another portrait of Lady Phantasm.

"As you've no doubt heard by now, tomorrow is the anniversary of My late wife's death. With all my servants preparing for the ceremony, I don't have anyone to go get her favorite flower."
"If I may ask, what is it called?"
"The darkbloom flower. It grows and blooms in dark places, hence its name. When brought out into the moonlight, it glows and in the sun it turns to crystal. I want you to go down into the lower dungeons were she had planted a darkbloom garden and collect two flowers." Requiem nodded, "Is there anything I should know about?" Servas nodded his head, "They smell like light."
Requiem raised in eyebrow in confusion, "You'll know it when you smell it. Now then," He picked up a box and handed it to the Rune Knight, "Place the flowers in here and bring them to me."

Requiem followed yet another guard, "So you really don't remember the day before yesterday?"
"No miss. I was pretty damn tired after all that work. Thanks for doing this by the way."
"Oh?"
"His lordship has been rather melancholy since his wife passed, something like this is good for him."
Requiem assumed he meant the job, "Here we are." Requiem entered the dungeons and walked down the hall. Torches lit the place every few yards before she reached the last set of stairs leading into the darkness. Requiem took a deep breath and walked forward. The light quickly faded as she descended and once she reached the bottom, she was in pitch dark. Not a comforting Darkness that one associated rest with. Her mind went back...back to...then. She had to ease into every step for fear of tripping and falling.

A small frightened child still bleeding from the cuts that lined her body. The cold Darkness offering no comfort, no pity. Alone, friendless, for the only person she had considered a friend was slain. The woman who she had tried to call 'mother' once simply laughed at her torment with cold, dead eyes. The girl screamed as she tries to claw her way out. The pain. The death. The stars called to her and yet she was unable to reach them. Their light was her only solice. And the light smelled like Purity itself.

Requiem snapped back to the present. She reached out and felt along the wall on her right until she came to a turn. Following the wall, Requiem kneeled and felt until after several minutes she found something that felt like a plant. She sniffed at it, but could easily tell that it wasn't what she was supposed to find. The hall ended right there and she had to turn around.

The next hall she went down nearly pitched her down the stairs. Her instincts kicked in and she twisted about landing on her hands and feet, "The hell was that?" She asked out loud, partially to confirm that she was still alive and partially out of shock. She noticed that the smell had faded a bit, meaning that there had to have been a third path where the flower was. Carefully climbing the stairs, Requiem reached the top and went down the third hall. The scent grew stronger. Then it grew weaker. She realized she made a wrong turn somewhere and backtracked to find another split that led where she wanted to go.

Requiem quickly went to her hands and knees and felt about until she reach a boarder of some kind. Gingerly feeling about, Requiem found a single plant. She gently plucked it and put it in the box she had been given and then started to feel about again. several more minutes revealed yet another darkbloom flower. Having acquired the second flower, Requiem back tracked, a skill she had been forced to learn, until she saw light and picked up the pace, practically sprinting until she nearly ran into the guard, "You alright lass?"
"Yes, just thrown off by how dark it was down there." The guard nodded and led the way back to Lord Phantasm, occasionally glancing back at the young woman which she noticed but said nothing about.

Requiem gently handed the box to his lordship and watched as he broke down. After about five minutes, he recomposed himself, "Thank you, thank you so very much." He gestured to a maid nearby who handed Requiem a small chest, "Here is your reward."
The Rune Knight bowed, "If I may ask,
what is the significance of the flower?"
Servas smiled a bittersweet smile, "When I was first courting her, we had gone for a walk in the woods nearby. The sun had just hone down and the full moon was running it's course when we saw a faint glow from the cave." He started to pace slowly, "We followed it to the back and found an entire garden of glowing flowers that had bloomed and were in various states of crystallization. Her eyes lit up when she saw them, said that these plants were proof that even in the darkest of places, there's light and hope." His lordship's eyes watered, "My precious gem, she was always one to find the good in others." He gestured to Requiem again, "Thank you for this service. You truly are a credit to the Rune Knights." Requiem bowed again, "I'm not worthy of such an honor." She was then escorted back out of the castle to the barracks.

(1438/1000)