Marco's Heart

[peccatore]

You find yourself in a bright white, circular room. It's nearly empty; too bare, almost clinically so. But the bareness of it means that what is visible here stands out:

A podium in the center, where a familiar figure sits, head buried in his hands. Three paths running from the podium to three different spots near the edges of the room - not corners; circles don't have corners - where three doors leading seemingly nowhere stand with no regard for their complete lack of structural support.

It doesn't take you long to figure out where you are, does it? You only have to decide where to start.

Comments

[voidofhearts]

There was a risk he would... stop me?

[peccatore]

"Hmm... Perhaps not stop you, but deter you. This door has little to do with what's bothering him."

[voidofhearts]

Looks like you're giving out good advice though. Seems worthwhile to visit just for that.

[peccatore]

There is a fondness in the girl's eyes.

"I think I would have liked to meet you."

[voidofhearts]

Meet... me???

[peccatore]

"You're an intelligent girl. Surely you realise that I am not the real Agnes, only a version of her that exists here."

She says it very matter-of-factly, but it might be hard not to feel judged when she sounds so serious about it... Regardless, her hand is on the door now.

[voidofhearts]

[Raises a finger as if to correct something]

Oh well uh- I'm not actually...

[...no. Nope no, actually no, now is not the time to get into her fucking gender. She sighs and lowers her finger]

...Nevermind. Thanks for the compliment. I did already figure that much, I just... don't know why the real Agnes would have wanted to meet me.

[peccatore]

"You are nice."

... There may be a lot here that is best debated another time.

[voidofhearts]

There are a lot of nice people. Most people are nice, in my experience. But I'm glad I'm... I'm on the list.

[peccatore]

"... Hm."

Now she's the one who seems unconvinced, but...

"Regardless, shall we?"

She opens the door all the same, inviting you to cross first.

[voidofhearts]

Let's.

[she politely enters the door upon being invited in.]

[peccatore]

And Agnes will follow behind her.

On the other side of the door is a cobblestone street under a cloudy night. The buildings seem relatively antiquated - definitely European. There is a delicious smell coming from one in particular; a blond man in a long coat and a hat stumbles towards it, seemingly led by his body more than by his senses.

[voidofhearts]

Marco...?

[Void follows him]

[peccatore]

The window on the building that the scent leads to is difficult to see through, but the sign outside labels it as an apothecary. The blond man - Marco, as you have deduced - steps inside to find a small girl at the counter. It is obviously Agnes, albeit wearing clothes that must have been outdated even on the day this happened. Also, she's almost definitely standing on a crate or a chair.

The Agnes from Marco's Heart speaks quietly, right behind you.

"This is the day when we first met."

[voidofhearts]

[Void follows Marco inside, especially grateful she doesn't need to be invited in places herself. Would be a really pesky problem in a place like this]

He looks... really out of it. How much has he been eating lately?

[peccatore]

"Not enough."

She says it with far less judgement than the Agnes behind the counter, who opens with a terse,

"Wipe your feet. Stand up straight." Her eyes narrow. "... State your business."

Marco's response comes in slow, heavily accented English.

"I, I felt... I smell... Why is it this much...?"

[voidofhearts]

[Void's eyes latch onto the scent... that delicious scent, as if she can follow it through the air]

...Blood. It's his memory— that's why it's so... you're storing blood here, aren't you?

[peccatore]

"In the back." She nods. "It was a small business, back then. ... Of course, he couldn't afford it. I could tell right away."

That is what the brief exchange between Marco and the girl at the counter amounts to. Despite Marco's limited means and clumsy use of the language, however...

"Come with me," Counter Agnes says. Marco follows her through a door at the back, and Guide Agnes signals at you to come along as well.

[voidofhearts]

[Void follows along, just kinda watching this play out. And a little bit enticed by the blood herself honestly. She can't properly drink it, but there's still something about it that's... pleasant.]

[peccatore]

In the past, Agnes pours blood from a bottle into a cup, then hands it to Marco, who drinks it like a man dying of thirst. Maybe he was. She sighs, but there's no sign of exasperation in the sound.

"How long?" She asks him.

"Ah..." He is visibly trying to do the math in a language he doesn't have the most solid grasp on yet. The words take longer to come to him than the numbers. "Maybe, a... cccentury... Not exactly..."

She blinks. Surely, he must have the wrong word.

Meanwhile, the other Agnes is... curious about something. Eyeing you with no judgement, she asks,

"Are you hungry?"

[voidofhearts]

A century?

[She says it with such pure disbelief. Surely he must have the wrong word. She cannot imagine going that long without eating. Maybe she could, physically... she's not sure. It's truly impossible to know. But something in her would break long before then.]

[She turns to the other Agnes, the shock still dressing her face.]

I mean- y-yeah. Always. There's something about me I... don't think can ever be full, honestly.

[peccatore]

It's actually Marco who turns to address you in that moment, like an actor making an aside for the audience:

"Since I'd turned."

The two Agnes (Agneses? Agnii?) nod. "Since he'd turned." And then, only the Guide. "That is what I meant."

She nods patiently at your answer, too.

"I wonder if your hunger is truly that different from ours. Marco believes he is greedy, but..."

[voidofhearts]

[She folds her arms and looks away]

I... I wouldn't be able to tell. Some things he says sound... familiar... but does that mean it's actually the same feeling? I'm not sure how I'm meant to know...

[peccatore]

"Perhaps that's... okay. Must you know if it's exactly the same? Isn't it enough to understand?"

[voidofhearts]

That is if I actually manage to understand. I hope I do! Hopefully. I try...

...I try really hard to.