" Is that- " Oda wasn't able to finish her sentence when the shadow on the floor took form and slowly started turning into an actual elf.
If Errot didn't know that there was an Ink that could shape himself as a shadow whenever he wanted, he would have been frightened by the sight afore him.
Instead, he blinked at Santos presence, his face serious and collected. He glanced at Oda and he was grateful to see that she wasn't about to freak out either.
Santos was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed against his chest and his head thrown down. A big, black cloak was covering most of his face and clothes, making him look like the Grim Reaper, itself. His nails were also painted black and if you looked closely you could see a case for arrows and knives wrapped around his waist.
"Santos, right?" Errot kept eyeing him carefully, so he wouldn't get caught.
Santos kept his gaze glued to the floor and his voice low. "If you don't stop checking me out, I'll stab you. " He said in a serene tone.
Errot moved his gaze away from him and stayed silent, afraid that if he opened his mouth, he would screw everything up.
"And quit acting like you're not sure of what my name is, since you dragged it through the dirt only a while ago" Santos said coolly and raised his eyes just a little bit upwards.
"I simply said-...wait, you were there?" Errot furrowed his eyebrows.
Santos let an almost inaudible sigh out and took a better look at Errot by pushing his hoodie a bit back. He then averted his gaze and his lips started forming a small side smirk that quickly faded away. "Look kid, I can now s- "
"If you want to call me a kid then go ahead but just so you know, this kid will soon be working with you, so you either respect that or save your comments for yourself." All the pressure and anger that Errot had collected since he stepped into Ink Blood finally erupted and he couldn't let another person treat him like that even if this said person is a cold- hearted criminal.
There was a deadly silent pause, during which no one was moving or saying a word. Then, in a matter of seconds, Santos had removed himself from the wall and he had Errot on a chockhold, a knife against his throat.
Errot immediately placed his hands into Santos' arm against his neck so he could pull it away but Santos was way stronger than him. He could literally feel his lips on his ear, softly moving against it while he was talking.
"Consider this a friendly warning, White. Nobody here ever interrupts me when I talk and an arrogant new born won't be the first to do that. I couldn't care less about who you are, who you're not and what you've discovered, if you demand respect better be able to give it back or I'll make sure your time in the castle will hurt like hell for you and the blonde " Errot slightly shivered both at the feeling of the shiny metal of the blade against his neck and of the iciness of Santos' voice. He refused to show any weakness nonetheless, his pride above his fear.
"Nod if you understand"
It took a little while for Errot to nod but he eventually did.
Santos set his grip free and removed the knife from Errot's throat in a swift motion. He pulled his hoodie back up to cover his face again.
"Oh and. I work alone." He announced monotonously and started walking ahead in the corridors. "Now, follow me."
♛♛♛
It didn't take very long for them to arrive to the room they were assigned to. Santos dully informed them that the King's chambers were at the other side of the black corridor and warned them not to even think of approaching them.
They walked inside and were immediately met with dark grey walls which matched well with the total black furniture. The stars of the now night sky were shining through the large windows that covered almost one third of the entire room. The moon and the numerous candles were the only source of light this room had.
Errot wondered why did Inks love candles so much since the heat can literally kill them but then he felt the icy cold breeze on his bones and threw that thought away. A double bed with black satin covers was placed in the middle of the room and Errot resisted the urge to hop on it and sleep his worries away. Instead, he couldn't help but smile at the thought of him spending his last days buried under the comfort of satin against his skin.
Oda must have felt the same way because she turned at Errot and gave him a small wink.
"You're sharing the room, whether you're fucking or not." Santos said while observing them a bit from behind.
"Not a problem with us." Oda said while still checking it out.
"Didn't ask, blondie"
Oda's gaze moved to the floor and then she turned around to face Santos while he immediately looked away to avoid unnecessary eye contact.
"I'm well aware I'm blonde, but my name's Oda. So, you either refer to me by my name or don't do it at all." She clenched her fist in slight frustration.
Santos scoffed a bit amused and kept his gaze down. "The resemblance is shocking. Maybe you're siblings after all."
"I can't see how that's any of your business" Errot rolled his eyes.
"It's really not. But that's my expertise. Invading other people's businesses. You would know. " Santos replied calmly.
"Are you implying anything, Santos?" Errot said confidently serious.
"Yes. I very much am. Unfortunately for you, I do my job pretty well and I really don't give a shit if you believe that or not. I'm gonna prove it to you anyway and when I do, I really wanna see how you're gonna save yourself from King Canton's hands."
"Did the King hire you to threaten us? Maybe he thought you would feel better about yourself after being outsmarted by two 'kids' "
Santos remained frozen, his gaze still one with the floor.
The silence was so overwhelming that Errot decided to speak again but Santos was faster. "So, as you already know, you're gonna stay here for a few weeks tops. Information will be earned, not given. If his highness find you helpful he will extend your stay in the castle. You're gonna have a few classes with Elvina everyday. Those classes will train you for royal guarding, cause having a big mouth isn't enough for being a King's personal spy.
After Elvina, you're gonna head over at Adan's for communication lessons. And before I get interrupted again, with communication lessons I mean that you're gonna learn how to lie without really lying for example and more. The King thought you were too.. young to know how to master those skills.
You won't be able to leave this castle without the permission of the crown unless it's an emergency. Always remember you're getting tested here and you don't have the job. One mistake and you're out of here or worse. You start tomorrow at 7am. Backyard. And finally, one last thing. You should take an oath to the King. " Santos managed to say all those words with a monotonous yet dark tone.
"What should we say?" Errot asked.
Santos rolled his eyes. "The usual, White. Stop wasting my fucking time."
Errot started panicking now. What usual? He can't remember ever reading about oaths in the book. He snapped his eyes at Oda, trying not to show the despair that was currently taking him over.
Fortunately for him, Oda immediately caught on. "Right. I'll go first." She cleared her throat and placed a palm on her heart. "I swear to always protect King Canton, be under his command and never betray him."
Errot felt a wave of relief on his system and mentally thanked Oda for that. He then rushed to repeat the words so he wouldn't forget them and probably end up locked up.
Santos nodded at them without sparing them a single glance and started walking out. He suddenly stopped but didn't turn around to face them. "If Adan said anything about a party, don't go. You will probably regret it. "
He didn't wait for an answer as he stepped out of the room and dissapeared into the hall.
Errot closed the door shut and locked it right after. He then slid down against it and sat on the floor with a dramatic sigh.
Oda smiled amused at him. "Come on, it wasn't even half bad as I imagined it would be. "
"Well, that's the problem, Oda. It should have been bad. It was too easy to be real."
She then became serious. "I know. That's what I told you before Adan came. It felt like Canton wanted to let us into the castle. "
"Yeah but why would he? Do you think it has to do with - "
" Totally, Errot. He literally thought you were somebody else at first. "
"He said something about a spell? Can Inks cast spells? "
"Not all Inks. Only the royal family, meaning Canton, since he is the only member left. And he has a limited amount of spells he can cast. Dark magic. It always comes with a cost."
"Shit. Do you..do you think he knows me, somehow?"
"And what? He put a spell on you that you don't even remember? Bull, Errot. Not you. But it was definitely someone that looks like you. A lot. And Adan's reaction..Hold on. I'll text Flare about it." She said while pulling her phone out and going to her contacts. She then raised her eyebrows in slight embarassment.
"What? "
"The code names. Oh my. " She blushed a bit and started rubbing her forehead.
"What are the code names? "
Oda sighed and looked at Errot. "Elian is under 'bro' and Flare under 'two-faced bitch' "
Errot let a small chuckle out at that. "I really don't wanna see the code names on my phone."
"Don't be brave. You were worse. " She rolled her eyes amused and tapped on Flare's contact.
#Oda: Hey, it's Oda
-10:13 p.m.-
#two-faced bitch: awe pancake is alive! What a blessing. Did you like the nicknames?
- 10:15 p.m.-
#Oda: Yeah. Loved them.
#Oda: anyways.
#Oda: we made it. We got in, and Canton gave us permission to work here only for a few weeks, as a test.
-10:15 p.m.-
#two-faced bitch: did he?
-10:15 p.m.-
#Oda: and sth weird happened. When he first started talking to Errot, he kind of acted like he knew who he was. Do you know anything about it?
-10:16 p.m.-
#two-faced bitch: look, Canton is very old. And mentally unstable. It was probably all in his head. Just forget about it.
-10:22 p.m.-
Oda raised her eyes to look at Errot. "She says that Canton is old and not mentally healthy so he probably imagined the whole thing"
"Don't believe it. She took way too long to text back. And that doesn't explain the reason why Adan was also surprised when he saw me"
"We asked him about it and he said that he was shocked that we were so young. And we know they can't lie."
"Oda. Adan himself is gonna teach us how to be conveniently truthful. That's probably his thing and that's what he did to us. "
Oda bit her bottom lip in thought. "Maybe we should just let it go for now and focus on our goal"
Errot had his eyebrows furrowed and he was looking ahead of him at nothing. "maybe."
#Oda: yeah.. you're right.
-10:25 p.m.-
#two-faced bitch: I always am! So, who did you meet apart from Canton?
-10:25 p.m.-
#Oda: we met Elvina briefly. She's way too similar to Canton in everything and she's almost as scary as him :P
- 10:25 p.m.-
#two-faced bitch: hahaha she's a badass. Be careful w her.
- 10:25 p.m.-
#Oda: definetely. We also met Adan and Santos. Don't get me started on both of them.
- 10:26 p.m.-
#two-faced bitch: Adan is a snake from what I've heard. But very fun to be around. And Santos..He's extremely skillful. He knows what he's doing. Always stay alert.
- 10:26 p.m.-
#Oda: we noticed..
-10:26 p.m.-
#two-faced bitch: good. You should go to sleep now. You had a long day. And let the fun begin, tomorrow ;)
-10:27 p.m.-
#Oda: the fun lol.
#Oda: Goodnight
-10:27 p.m.-
#two-faced bitch: sweet dreams!
-10:27 p.m.-
Oda turned her phone off with a sigh.
"Well?" Errot questioned exhausted.
"Let's see what is waiting for us tomorrow and pray it's not death."
♛