Althena’s notebooks were filled with an immense number of scribblings, sketches, and observations related to the nature and purpose of Noir. Unfortunately, as Chloe and Kirika soon found out, this wealth of information had one major drawback: it was completely and utterly disorganized. One page might be about Noir’s previous incarnations, while the next might contain a series of rushed translations from obscure texts. And though this information could be fascinating, in its current state, its usefulness was limited.
“Do any of the notebooks contain an index of some sort?” Kirika asked hopefully.
“None of the ones I’ve browsed through so far,” Chloe replied. She sighed and dropped the notebook in her hands onto the pool table. “I’m sorry, Kirika, but I just can’t read these—I’ve got too much on my mind.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I don’t know; I guess it just seems that Noir turned out a lot different than I expected it to be.”
“I’d say that was the case for pretty much everyone except for Althena and Jeanette.”
“But why would they hide it? I mean, if had known that the Corsican was to be a part of this, I would have acted a lot differently when I first met her.”
“Maybe that was the point.”
“It was the point,” Mireille said as she reentered the room, having finished talking to her landlady over the phone. “At least, that’s what Althena told me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Isn’t it obvious? The last few months have been filled with tests to find out which one of us is worthy to be the ‘leader’ of this little group, right? But none of us knew that. That way, none of us would be tempted to fake any leadership skills in order to be the Hand.”
“So how exactly did you qualify?”
“Beats the hell out of me,” Mireille replied honestly. “But she also said that I’ve been ‘groomed’ to be the Hand from the start. Sounds to me like the process is theoretically objective, but she wanted to stack the cards in my favor for some reason.”
“But you hated her.”
“Only because she went out of her way to make sure I would,” Mireille replied. “She wanted me to hate her and, by extension, Soldats. I suppose that implies that she intended for Noir to focus on punishing Soldats for its sins, or some other bullshit like that. I mean, why else would she go to this trouble?”
“So that’s what we’re going to do, then? Punish Soldats?” Kirika asked.
“No, that’s what Althena wanted us to do. But she isn’t here; she’s too busy rotting in Hell to try to direct our actions—assuming she wanted to in the first place. I’m almost certain that Noir is supposed to be self-directed, at least in theory. Of course, given what most members of Soldats believe, it’s quite possible that over the centuries Noir did become little more than Soldats’ private death squad. But I’m just speculating at this point.”
“Haven’t you said all this already?” Chloe asked.
“Maybe I have. I’m still getting used to this ‘analytical genius’ thing that seems to go along with being the Hand; it seems like every insight is worth repeating. I’m sure I’ll get used to it.”
“I hope so, considering that you’re the ‘leader.’”
“Chloe, can we at least try not to be hostile? Just for a little while? Besides, I’m not completely devoid of ideas: there is one thing I know we need to do.”
“And that is?”
“I want to find out who you really are. I’m convinced that you and Kirika each have a past, and that that past is worth knowing about.”
“It seems more like it’s just going to be a huge distraction from what we’re supposed to do.”
“So, you aren’t curious about your past?”
“No.”
“Well, last I checked, Kirika wanted to know hers—and in all likelihood, I know far less about my own past than I originally thought. We want to learn the truth about ourselves, and since it’s become rather obvious that all our stories are intertwined, that means your past is going to come up whether you like it or not.”
“But what if you’re wrong, and Kirika decides that we should worry about the present?”
The blonde woman shrugged. “Then the two of you can use the Trance to stop me from going any further. Our collective will always overpower our individual wills—I’m almost certain of that.”
“I’ll tell you right now that it isn’t a pleasant experience,” Chloe said as she glanced at the floor. “Even now, although I’m feeling sorrow that Althena’s gone, it’s like I’m incapable of feeling remorse for killing her. It’s as though the two of you took away my personal freedom—it’s… violating, I guess. At least, I think I’m supposed to feel violated, but I don’t really know how I feel right now.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s not as if the two of you planned for things to turn out this way, after all. I’m just… afraid, I guess.”
“Of what?”
“Of you. Of the relationship you have with Kirika. I’m afraid that she’s going to side with you every time.”
Mireille sighed. “Maybe if I was as charismatic as Althena, your worries might be justified, but I’m barely able to lead the two of you—and even then I need help from some sort of supernatural power boost. Besides, Kirika is an independent person, and I have no way to control her opinions.”
“You can control mine,” Chloe said with a hint of bitterness.
“No, I don’t think that’s the case. First off, without Kirika’s full cooperation, I can’t force you to do anything. And second, your opinions are still your own; as far as I can tell, they haven’t changed much. If our experience so far is anything to go on, Noir can control our actions and, to a lesser extent, our emotions—at least while performing the actions I mentioned earlier. But our minds, it seems, are still our own.”
“That seems logical,” came a voice from an armchair in the corner. Chloe and Mireille turned to see Kirika looking up from one of Althena’s notebooks.
“You were listening?” Mireille asked.
“Of course I was. I’m the one who began this conversation, after all. I simply found some of Althena’s notes to be intriguing enough to warrant my full attention. I only really started taking notice again when the subject turned to the restrictions on our free will.”
“And…?”
“And it appears that most of what we’ve experienced so far lines up with the way Noir works. According to this, to become Noir is to voluntarily give up individual choice, at least to some degree.”
“I see,” Chloe said. “And… and can we reverse it? Is it even possible for us to disband?”
“I don’t know. I’ve only read about half of this notebook so far, and there are still more than a dozen others. However, if it is possible, I would think that it would require a majority, if not a unanimous decision. Why? Do you wish to leave?”
“No… not really. I mean, I’ve been training for this my entire life; it’s not something I can just walk away from. I just feel… confused.”
“Perhaps some sleep would help.”
“I guess… but how are we going to deal with sleeping arrangements for tonight? There’s only two beds in here.”
“Before you get any farther on that train of thought,” Mireille interjected, “I’d like to say that I think we should save any discoveries about whether or not being Noir has some effect on our sexuality for later.”
“What are you talking about?”
“As you pointed out, there are three of us, but only two beds, which means that two of us would have to share a bed. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve got enough on my mind without piling the possibility of lesbianism or bisexuality on top of that. So, I’m suggesting that each of you take a bed, while I stay up to get some additional work done.”
Chloe began to protest: “But—”
“Attraction can wait until later. If we are supposed to become lovers or something else like that, I’m sure one night alone won’t change that much. We need to deal with our more immediate concerns; right now, sexuality is, at best, a distraction. Understand?”
The Maidens nodded in response.
“Well, then I guess that’s enough for tonight—you two should probably get some sleep soon. Unless there’s something else…”
“The Kindly Ones.”
Mireille looked at Kirika with a somewhat confused look. “Excuse me?”
“Our new pseudonym—for when the three of us are working professionally rather than as Noir. I think it should be The Kindly Ones.”
“Um… is there a particular reason for choosing that?”
“It’s a term used to describe the Furies of Greek Mythology.”
“The female personifications of vengeance?” Mireille received a nod in reply. “Well, I can’t really see any reason not to use that one. I mean, while it seems that vengeance is a part of what we do, a lot of people hire ordinary contract killers for that very reason. There’s nothing about it that would lead people to specifically associate it with Noir, is there?”
“Not that I know of. I mean, I suppose there is a poetic sense in which might be noticeably different to someone who was paying very close attention, based on the plural. A name like ‘Noir’ implies that we’re working as a single entity, while as professionals, we’d be acting as three separate individuals.”
Mireille nodded; this didn’t seem to constitute a particularly obvious hint, and she had to admit that that “The Kindly Ones” had a deliciously euphemistic ring to it. “Chloe? Any comments?”
Chloe, for her part, was equally taken aback by Kirika’s nearly unprovoked suggestion. Still, like Mireille, she was generally inclined to agree with her best friend when there weren’t any obvious objections to her suggestions. “As far as connections go, there’s always the off chance that the Furies are nothing more than a heavily mythologized version of Noir. But I don’t see why this professional name really matters—it’s what we do as Noir that’s going to be important.”
The Corsican shrugged; in the end, the name itself didn’t really matter, so long as it wasn’t Noir. “Alright, then. I’ll get online and let the underworld know that The Kindly Ones are open for business.”
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(Posted Thu, 31 May 2007 19:40)
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