Chapter 50

                                    

                                          

Jeanne d'Arc Alter, or as she was now called among the other servants, the Dragon Witch, didn't really like to fight — oh no, she liked fighting enough, she enjoyed the shedding of blood and liked killing her, or more recently her master's, enemies, but sometimes... just for a while, of course, but sometimes... She liked to enjoy her surroundings in a more peaceful setting.
Moreover, she was now not currently stuck in the fields of France, which she once wanted to destroy, but in distant Italy, which she never knew of, so she could afford to say that... She liked the quiet atmosphere.
But only when in between battles, do not confuse her intentions!
At least that was what the Witch told herself.
Flying above the countryside of Italy with a speed that which the Witch herself, unwillingly admit, could hardly develop nevermind do, she leisurely looked at the plains below and the broken bends of the roads, enjoying the calm atmosphere.
"So, someone used some kind of spell against Ainz" - she sighed - "And now we are urgently going to Rome."
As soon as the Witch was woken up, Ainz announced that they urgently needed to go to Rome to look for the aftermath of the magi's counter-spell that rebounded on the possible enemy. On the one hand - the Witch was somewhat annoyed by the urgent departure from the city of the three Emperors - she have not even tried the local breakfast fare yet! On the other hand, she was in a really good mood recently. Partly - due to the absence of the local beauties. But basically from the fact that she managed... To sleep?
It was a little strange, but over the past week the Witch could not get used to this new circumstance. It turns out she could sleep.
No, of course she understood that sleeping was a basic human ability - and more succinctly, a basic human need of any person really. However, a quiet sleep without dreams was an unexpected luxury for the Witch.
She has not remembered the events of her Singularity particularly well - however, some of the memories of the other Jeanne Alter were available to her. Specifically, her dreams.
Nightmares, rather.
Every night she was tormented by a specific nightmare. Each time the other Jeanne slept the same nightmare would be what awaited her.
She would be back in that narrow prison cell. She would again be tortured by the silent assistant of the cardinal, to force out of her a false confession. Two men in black hoods whose faces she cannot see or recognize would then come to her cell. Then finally she would be led to her execution.
An execution where she would be burned alive.
It is unlikely that anyone could call a death from immolation a mild death, but the death that the Witch would dreamt of was much worse. It was as if time itself was manipulated in order to prolong her torment forcing her to survive the burning just that much longer.
Again and again she would scream.
Every now and again she would pray.
She endured. Then she screamed. Then she prayed. And then she would scream again.
And when her screams was finally enough to wake her out of her sleep and break the silence of the night, the nightmare would end and the Witch would have woken up in a cold, sticky puddle of sweat on her swept bed, desperately trying to heal wounds that hurt even through her nightmare.
However, after Ainz summoned her, the dreams... Stopped. Just gone.
Nothing tormented her sleep anymore. When she fell asleep for the first time after her summoning - she was afraid that her nightmare would visit her again, but now... It was just a normal dream.