Red Tea with Sugar Cakes

[Remilia Scarlet]

The lady of the tea house proved herself to have a strength of character equal to her throwing arm. As the Scarlet Devil approached her, she seemed unphased at the deliberate steps and radiated charisma of the vampire girl. Nor did she seem impressed by the brutal display of violence just performed on the bandit in front of her. If she cared about anything, it was the sliding door she just destroyed in her message in no uncertain terms that she had no intent to accept the brigand’s business. This, along with the combination of earthly yet plain beauty with an athletically lithe body, made Remilia think of an older Reimu; the shrine maiden she often pestered back in Gensokyo. Although the hostess was not quite as malnourished.

Negotiations went nowhere. Her honeyed words and grandstanding fell upon stone, and offers of money, charms, favors, and sweets got no attention other than the noble lord and ladies sitting at the bottom of the steps nearby. All of which sniggered at the newcomer’s naivety. This was Kuzami Fuka, a fierce woman who was as well known as her heavenly tea, both as commanding an unbreachable stubbornness and a disrespect she applied equally to all. Even the attempt to sell Youmu to her only got indignation from the half phantom gardener. It had taken the others weeks to months to get an appointment What hope did this childish vampire have?

But Remilia was not so ill-prepared in dealing with more “practical” personalities as the blue bloods thought. The hostess’ unwavering concern with her broken door was a deterrent to the scarlet devil’s flattery, it was also the path in. With a side remark about the poor state of the building, the hostess grunted in acknowledgement. With the bait set, Remilia played the trap with a brag of her maid’s unprecedented power of cleaning. This was what brought interest to the table, and negotiation began in earnest. With a few concessions given and, of course, a price paid, Remilia reeled in the prize and soon had what she wanted.

With the snap of the vampire’s dainty fingers, the perfect and elegant maid Sakuya disappeared. In the literal blink of an eye she had compared, bought, affixed, transported, and replaced a new paper door where the old shattered one was. Caught by surprise at the extraordinary magic used for mundane use, Remilia hooked her line and with a offer for the normal payment the woman may a an exception for the one time.

Other than the fishing metaphors, the vampire was quite happy with how this turned out. That little glee smile on her face was with her all the way down the stairs as she plopped onto the bench, looking at the nobles who had doubted her and were trying very hard to hide their slacked jaws.

“A pleasure to meet you all.” Remilia greeted, intense eyes glancing over her fellow diners as she bowed her head. Although clearly superior to the humans before her, there was no excuse to not be polite. Although there was also no excuse to not rub it in, and she was more certainly going to do that. But they had no intentions to respond in kind, their own delusions of grandeur could not allow them to acknowledge the child. Or perhaps they at had more rightful fear of the vampire in front them, although more out of association than because the childlike undead was intimidating herself.

But one, either a fool or audacious, smiled at the Scarlet Devil and bowed back. Despite his young age, his drooped face and slouched posture exposed a more weathered body. His eyelids looked barely kept open over soft green irises, his black hair was unkempt, and hung over with little care of where it laid, and his comparably plain clothes where a size too big despite a healthy frame and unblemished skin. But it was his smile that stood out the most: slight, yet genuine. He reached out his hand to clasp Remilia’s, which she gladly took, despite the glare of the chief maid over her shoulder. She felt a great warmth in him.

“A pleasure to meet you, miss,” he greeted her with a casual tone. It was clear he belonged in this eastern city, but why he was a part of this group of upperclassmen and women tugged at Remilia’s curiosity, “I’m Shun Sui.”

“Remilia Scarlet,” she answered in kind, her smile growing. Sakuya bowed, though she made no attempt to interrupt, “You seem a bit out of place here”

“Oh, I’m just experiencing something new. I came about this place, I wanted to drink some tea, and I asked Fuka if she’d have me. I scheduled an appointment, and I’ve been waiting. She’s actually quite nice, if you get to know her”

“Have you been waiting here the whole time?” Remilia teased, causing both of them to chuckle.

“Not the whole time. Sleeping on a bench is rough,” He joked back.

“Well, if you’re looking to experience something new, how would you like to be friends with a vampire?” Remilia quickly offered, excitement at the edge of her voice.

“Oh, that does sound like fun,” and both of them shook on the start of a wonderful friendship.