08:58 pm, June 26, 1378 ASV
"What kind of idiot goes to the bathroom without his weapon?"
"I wasn't expecting to fight in the bathroom, Lucerio."
"Tomorrow morning we will be entering a festival where we will be forced to kill each other. You don't think someone would try to get ahead by taking out the competition in the bathroom?"
"Well, when you put it like that..." Eros muttered while draining the water from his clothing into the sink. His brand new outfit was completely ruined. Amelia was going to kill him when she saw how torn apart his suit was.
"I think there's a dead ant in my ear still..." Grimace wiggled his finger into his right ear, pounding the left ear with his palm to try and knock it out.
"And why are we openly discussing this in front of the performer?" Lucerio asked, his eyes locked onto Grimace's and the grip on his dagger tightening. Grimace smirked at him, trying to get a read on Lucerio.
"It's fine... Besides, we can't kill him. He's too well known within the hotel. If one of their famous performers turned up dead, they'd halt the festival and start an investigation."
"So why don't we just kill him?"
"Didn't you hear what I said?"
"I did. If we kill him, it will stop the festival and we can find you know who without having to participate."
"I didn't think about that... but we still can't kill him, especially since he helped me. If anything, let's just kill the artist instead."
The artist was sitting down leaning against a wall, his brown hair was soaked in dirty toilet water. He was still holding his broken nose, trying to make it straight again to no apparent success. His eyes widened as his brain finally processed the words that he had overheard.
"Wait! You mean me!? Oh come on, you don't want to do that! Right!?"
"Why wouldn't we kill you? You just tried to murder us with your Astral Art." Eros replied coldly, taking a step towards the injured man. "Your ants ruined my suit..."
"WAIT!"
"I have no patience for traitors..."
Lucerio twirled out his dagger, spinning it along his fingers like a circus trick. He placed the blade against the wall, scraping its paint off as he slowly approached the man. There was fear in the artist's eyes as he tried to back up against the wall even more, pleading for his life.
"W-wait! I'll tell you who sent us!"
"WHO!?" Lucerio placed his dagger against the man's throat, drawing a thin line of blood. The man's face went pale as he stared down at the dagger, afraid to gulp at the risk of slitting his own throat.
"I-I don't know his name! But I can take you to him! I think he's a sponsor!"
"A sponsor?"
"So it wasn't your own sponsor who ordered you to kill me then?" Eros asked, a million thoughts running through his head. The man nodded his head slowly, Lucerio moving his blade to match each movement.
That doesn't make sense though. Why would another sponsor hire other artists to do their dirty work when they already have artists on their payroll? Unless it wasn't a sponsor at all?
"What's your name?" Grimace asked, grinning as the man winced at the sound of his voice. He was quite pleased with his handiwork but seemed a little disappointed by the fact that his nose broke so easily.
"It's Bobby. Bobby Bags."
"What a lame name, you must have been an unplanned pregnancy." Grimace replied lazily, slowly losing interest in the conversation.
"Bobby, take me to the person who hired you."
Grimace put on his golden mask as he and Eros finished drying their clothes under the hand dryers. Lucerio helped Bobby to his feet, holding the tip of his blade against his spine. Bobby paused for a moment, terror flooding his face.
"Just give me a reason to..."
Bobby led the three men out of the bathroom, pausing as he noticed his two unconscious friends down face first on a nearby table. There were bottles of alcohol set up on the table to make it look like the men had passed out from drinking. Eros had the craftiness of Lucerio to thank.
As they reached the main dining hall, Lucerio hid behind the wall with his dagger still pressed against Bobby's back. He allowed Bobby to peek from the corner to point out the target without raising suspicion.
"He's not here anymore..."
"Are you lying to us?" Lucerio pushed the blade a little deeper.
"No! He's not here, I swear! He must be in the VIP room then!"
"VIP room?" Eros questioned.
"It's the room where the sponsors and royal family will be hosting their viewing party for the remainder of the festival. The only other people with access to that room are the staff members... and me of course." Grimace smirked, rubbing his golden gloves together mischievously.
"Are you allowed to bring slaves with you to that room?"
"No, not unless you were staff workers..." Grimace frowned.
"What about sponsors?"
"Well, they're nobles so they could do whatever they want."
"Perfect. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Eros walked into the main dining hall, taking his seat besides Amelia. She sniffed the air as he walked by, turning her head in surprise at the state of Eros' suit.
"EROS! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU? AND WHY DO YOU SMELL LIKE THAT!?"
"Long story. Are you going to the VIP room soon?"
"Why? Yes. But why?"
"Take me and Lucerio with you please."
"I-I can't. Have you forgotten already? I know you're not a slave but to everyone else in this room, you are." Amelia whispered, wrinkling her nose from the foul smell trapped onto Eros' suit.
"Please, Amelia. Remember that night when I took you to Raspberry Ruby's..."
"Eros, I..."
"And you told me you had never tried fast food before? We ordered everything on that menu until we got sick..."
"I..."
"And then you bought the restaurant and fired the manager on the spot after she tried kicking you out for puking on the floor..."
"Okay okay, I get it. We had a really fun night, well... more than just a night. But this... it's never been done before."
"Amelia, please... this may be my last night alive after all."
"Fine... but I'm only bringing you! It'll be harder to notice one slave than two."
"I would kiss you right now but I'm pretty sure there's still ant blood in my mouth!"
"Really, I could... wait, what!?" Eros was already sprinting back towards Lucerio, Bobby, and Grimace. Amelia shouted out for him, concern and confusion spreading across her face.
"All right Lucerio, you're going to have to find a way into the VIP room. Amelia will bring me with her."
"Amelia? As in Amelia Aurelion? She's your sponsor?" Grimace asked, clenching his fists.
"Yeah, she's also his lover. Now, how am I suppose to find a way in?" Lucerio replied, skipping over the noticeable anger in Grimace. He unclenched his fists, sighing as he answered Lucerio.
"I can disguise you as a staff worker but we're going to have to find a staff worker to swap outfits with."
"I think I know who I can switch with..."
"This is a great plan and all, but you're all forgetting I need to be there to confirm the identity of the guy who hired me. And also..." The three men looked at Bobby, shocked at how they had forgotten such a crucial part of the plan. He held his bloody nose, pointing to it to remind them of another problem they had.
"Why'd you have to break his nose, Jester?"
"Why'd his nose break so easily? Who knows?" Grimace shrugged, rolling his eyes as Bobby winced in pain while trying to scratch his nose.
Lucerio clapped his hands together, causing Bobby to jump back out of fear. He put his hand on Bobby's shoulder, further terrifying the injured man.
"Bobby, go with Grimace and swap outfits with one of the backup performers. I'll find the old man and swap outfits with him. And Eros..."
"Yes?"
"You should freshen up. You smell terrible, you'll end up drawing more attention to yourself. Ms. Billionaire won't love you if you smell like that. In fact, all three of you should freshen up first. This mask is the only thing keeping me from passing out..."
The three of them sniffed themselves, wrinkling their noses in disgust before nodding in agreement with Lucerio. Bobby shot Eros a pleading look, begging to go with him instead of the mad jester. Grimace clasped his hand on his shoulder, forcing him to walk with him. Lucerio and Eros parted ways.
By the time Eros got his room card from the front desk and entered his room, he found a letter on his bed.
Dear Eros Eldritch,
If it's Velvo's prized possession you seek, find me in the VIP room...
Warm regards,
Anonymous