Mildred Hopcaper, elder of the Hopcaper tribe, stared dubiously at the four in front of him. He was not the only one doing so. He could see his fellow elders, who had hastily gathered here upon learning that Matthew, who had left, had hastily returned.
Mildred carefully examined two Hopcapers, who did not bear any signs of anguish nor trauma. There were no wounds on their bodies, nor signs of mental trauma. He had grown increasingly worried about the two assassins lately, with them picking up such undesirable jobs.
He could tell that the others felt the same way he did, which was why they had reacted so volatilely when Matthew had announced that he was taking the younger assassin with him to complete a series of assassinations. The child was only twelve years old now, but that beast had taken him out of the tribe when he was eight. Eight!
Mildred laced his fingers together, thinking deeply. "Let's say I believe you," he said at last, silencing the others in the room. "What evidence do you have? Clearly, you have already 'disposed of' the stone, so what's there to say that you weren't the one who planted it instead?" he said, playing the devil's associate. If he did not do this at least, then the others in the room would be wholly unconvinced.
Slowly, each one of the elders thought back about how a series of what they thought might have been the start of an epidemic rise in the tribe. Thinking up to this point, they felt like this outsider might have been telling at least a fraction of the truth.
Nine grinned, showing her pearly white teeth in a show of dominance. "This Prince not looking to provide you for evidence, nor is he looking to get along with you. This Prince is telling you that you have been infected by the darkness elements, and he will purge them from you whether or not you agree. As it stands, your entire tribe is now a liability that this Prince is unable to accept."
With that said, Nine swept out of the room, silencing any protests that might have popped up.
Mildred was shocked at the show of dominance but couldn't help but feel like this was a person that truly deserved to be a Crown Prince of a leading empire. He was willing to let you speak, and he was willing to listen, but he would not take any disrespect, which was the correct mindset that a leader should have.
Slowly, Mildred and the other elders started to have a grudging respect for the Crown Prince of the Cosmos Empire. Indeed, this was not a man who lied. Straightforward and frank, he was the type of man who settled things through actions instead of words.
Outside, Nine was followed by Nocturne, Justin and Matthew. The four, who had wasted enough time presenting the details to the elders, finally had enough. The lives that hung in balance would wait for no man.
Time stopped for no one. Nine was willing to back up whatever she said with strength. It didn't matter if they didn't believe her. She would take the necessary actions then leave. It wasn't like she had to stay here for the rest of her life, after all.
Nine pulled out ten ward stones and pulled out her inscription tools. Quickly, but without any waste of movement, Nine's hands drew over the blank ward stones, line after line being inscribed on the previously blank stones.
Nine's motions were a work of art and pleasing to the eye. Even those without any knowledge could tell that this was a master at work on their craft. Her movements flowed gently, and at times rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, ten ward stones were completed.
Nine split the stones within them. "Place these on the outskirts of the tribe. Near the wall would be good, but make sure to bury them down and hide them."
They nodded, splitting up.
Before long, the four regathered at the same spot they left, feeling a distinct change in the air. It felt like the previously heavy air got marginally lighter, as the darkness elements were slowly drained.
Nine buried the last ward stone where she stood, covering it back up. The moment the stone was placed down, the Hopcaper tribe shook as one by one, the people collapsed.
Matthew and Justin looked on with alarm, but Nine calmed them. "Relax. This is just a side effect. The moment they wake up, the darkness elements gathering in their body will have dissipated."
Matthew clenched his fist, inwardly swearing another oath. He would never forget the kindness that his man had shown his tribe.
"Thank you," Matthew said, making to kneel on the floor, but Nine gripped his arm with an appearance that belied her strength.
Matthew helplessly stood, having been stopped by Nine, but didn't press the matter. He supposed that the other got enough of that, being the Crown Prince of an empire.
"Are you coming with us, or are you staying?" Nine asked, having taken care of the pesky little monitoring devices as the others were planting the ward stones. "Are there loose ends you have not yet tied up?"
Helce must have thought she was pretty slick, but Nine altered the monitoring devices, bringing them under her control. Since she left her magical signature all over the little devices, not to mention her blood, Nine would have no problem tracking the other down.
Matthew hesitated, torn between wanting to help his saviour, but at the same time, there were people he wanted to check up on in the tribe.
Justin poked his Master, respectfully helping him out. "Master, why don't you go check on whomever you want to, then come find us? You can track me down, anyhow."
Matthew fell silent before nodding slightly. "Your Highness, will you allow this lowly commoner to serve you?" he said formally.
Nine nodded.
Matthew fell to his knees, and this time, Nine didn't stop him. He bowed his head, placing a fist above his heart in his tribe's oath swearing pose, solemnly swearing his oath. "I, Matthew Hopcaper, hereby swear that for the rest of his unworthy life, will only serve one Master. This servant's life is in his Master's hands, and he will work tirelessly and without complaint."
Watching this, Nocturne's lips twitched. Why was it that his husband seemed to collect all sorts and manners of men around her? He couldn't help but feel jealous because of it. There were so many people aiming for her! They didn't even know that Nine was a female!
Nocturne scowled, but grudgingly acknowledged that should anyone know about Nine being a female, there would probably be even more casualties. He would then have to get rid of them one by one.
"Matthew, I welcome you. To you, I make the oath that as my subordinate, this Master will never mistreat you, never forsake you. So long as you have breath in your body, this Master will rescue you from the hands of death."
Both swearing oaths, a blinding flash of light glowed from the two of them. The bloom of magic in the air was unmistakable, as a magical tattoo bloomed upon Matthew's skin. The tattoo was located upon the place where Nine had gripped him earlier.
Though she could not see it, she could feel her mark being left on the man.
Nocturne watched this happen with a steadily darkening expression. By the time Matthew left, Nocturne's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
Nine's lips couldn't help but quirk into a smile when she saw the expression on her wife's face. She couldn't help but want to sweetly placate him, until he knew that there was no one else but him in her heart.
She pressed a soft kiss onto his cheek, whispering to him. A red flush appeared on her wife's cheeks, slowly spreading to his ears, until they reached his neck.
Justin watched the husband and wife duo flirt in front of him, completely disregarding his presence, and he suddenly felt like he understood what people felt when they saw couples flirt.
He felt like he was being attacked just by being in the vicinity.
The poor young assassin's ears dropped as he couldn't help but complain to himself that this was child abuse!