The handwriting on the paper in her hands made Sophie uneasy. She held the small white paper with her left hand, and with the other hand she held her own wrist, trying not to show uneasiness. The handwriting was very understandable, bent to the right and not at all pretty. It looked like the typical handwriting of a confident and overbearing man. Sophie had reread several times what little the words said, blurred from being wet, the words didn't seem to need all the understanding that the redhead was trying to make out. The black ink was thicker due to the water and nothing special could be removed.
Unless Sophie wanted there to be something special there. "I want you better" could be interpreted in many ways, only Sophie preferred to take it in relation to her body and injuries. But inside herself, without the permission to reveal herself, she wanted him to come and ask if she was okay. She wanted him to come and tell her that it all meant nothing. But, she didn't want to give in and admit these thoughts. It was contradictory, the anger she had for Von was enormous. Not only did he not care about her, but he kissed her maid as if she were nothing. As if Sophie was replaceable. And it burned. It drove her out of her mind and disconcerted her thoughts, as if he was sucking them in, taking them out one word at a time. Her gaze was fixed on the paper, but her mind was blank, trying to figure out what that feeling was, she ignored all the warnings of her sanity and remembered Von kissing Angela. It was dark and very gloomy, she vaguely remembered the details and the more she tried to see Von's face in those thoughts, the more it merged with the darkness. There was a blind spot; it was nighttime when she saw the flagra, but when she had come out of the shower after seeing him it was clear. She was letting something slip by, only her insanity and common sense wouldn't let her cross the line between imaginary and real.
Soon it would be dark and Samantha would arrive in the morning. Bored and not hungry after eating more than enough, she put on a white wool sweater and black pants. Her socks were white and her sneakers were beige. With the closet door open she hurriedly rummaged through her clothes, didn't seem to find what she wanted, and huffed angrily. She left her room like a hurricane and walked with strides to the cabin where the armory was. She opened her own closet, removed a black band with her daggers and tied them to her left thigh. He looked for a few seconds at the Katana she would use to train Von, took it, and closed the cabinet. As she left the hut she met Von and held her breath. He looked at her as his green pupils stared at the sheath of the Katana. A wave of heat invaded Sophie's body and she removed the sword from its sheath. She left without looking at him, leaving Von in his terrible dilemma.
He could not understand Sophie's behavior. He had spent a whole day looking after her in the forest, and another day after they returned. When she left Norgard's office, Von saw everything that had happened. He had not been surprised by Sophie's slamming into the bookcase, and not even when Norgard later told him to watch her. He put her to bed, a maid he had never seen before put a first aid case in her room, she made mention of doing the dressings, but it was Von who cleaned and covered Sophie's bruises. She wriggled around by noon, and fell out of bed. When von went to pick her up to put her back on the bed, she had struggled, spit on him, and told him to remove his unholy hands from her. He hadn't quite understood, but she seemed to have had a very strange dream. He just ignored it, and when he warned her that Samantha would be back, he made sure it wasn't too personal. He had done quite a bit for her these past few days; and he was treated with extreme arrogance. She didn't seem like the girl who melted when she kissed him; she didn't seem to care one bit about her father's subordinate. But still, she had pursued him for quite some time. But Von thought it best to put his plan into practice. He would only talk to Sophie as much as was necessary, and he would start doing this on the next mission that General Norgard Chasseur was preparing for both of them.
The cold late autumn wind was threatening. Night had fallen, but the people on the streets didn't seem to mind, the lights intensified the crowding of people in the narrow streets and people of all kinds could be seen, from filthy children to witches. A little way away from there, coming out of the underground, you could see a factory in full production. Smoke was billowing into the sky and also into an empty lot around it. There was practically nothing there but the factory and the red lands that surrounded it. The wind raised the dust that mixed with the smoke, giving an orange tone to the environment. In this place it was possible to see the red haired young woman surrounded by more than fifteen men. She had one leg bent and the other extended, her arms held the katana in front of her body, aligned with her bent leg. Her eyes were closed and some red hair fell down her face, covering her left eye. On her serious face a satisfied smile broke out. She stepped out of his position and the dust rose. She attacked the first man she saw, piercing his neck, and then struck the men one at a time, all in a few seconds. She dodged the metal sticks and used them to trick them, making one man hit another. When she realized there was only one man shooting at her, she spun the katana to block the attacks and walked calmly towards him. The ammunition finally ran out and Sophie watched the man's desperate face indifferently. He ran and at last a smile broke out on the assassin's face. She positioned herself and launched the Katana into the air. The man was fifteen meters away from Sophie. When the Katana fell, it struck the man right in the back of the head. He died at the same instant and the Katana sank into the ground. Sophie's steps were still calm, and her face even more so. Her rage and bloodlust had not completely ceased, but at that moment Sophie Chasseur was satisfied.
.
.
.
Samantha had arrived over an hour ago. The sun was weak, but at least there was sun. The air was icy and denoted the beginning of winter. Samantha looked as beautiful as ever and soon after settling back into the mansion she went to Norgard's office with a black folder in her hand. She entered without knocking and saw the general reading something. He looked at her over his reading glasses and a proud smile broke out on his lips.
-You are late. -
-There was an accident in the terminal. - She said as she sat down in the chair in front of the general and smiled in return. She placed the folder gently on the table and propped her elbows up.- Everything I could gather is in that folder. -
-I understand," he removed his glasses to get a better look at her and saw the hurt look Samantha was trying to contain. - Why are you looking at me like that, Sam? -
-I always thought you were faithful, general. -
-Are you angry with me? - He smiled bitterly. -There was a time when I came to love your mother.
-Is that when you met Abigail Rudra? -
-That was later. I came to love Veronika a few months before she died. I think it was the thought of losing her that made me realize that. -
-I never understood the stupid thing she did. -
-Stupid thing? - He frowned.
-Marrying you. -
-Magical powers were never accepted very well in Cermina. They were considered weaknesses, and yes, it was a form of fighting, but not what we really valued. It was disgusting to know that some people controlled forces of nature, for us in the High Command, we saw it as an offense. Now it is no longer looked down on, but nineteen years ago it was. And Veronika felt it at first hand. She was from the underground then, with blond hair and blue eyes. She looked a lot like you, and was considered by several soldiers in my troop. At that time I was only the captain and I followed orders from my superior. And the order was to arrest any kind of force and magical powers. I stopped her, along with three other men, her brothers, and she looked at me with eyes that reflected the purest hatred, just like Sophie's on such a night. -
-On such a night? -
-You will see.-
-Ok, go ahead. -
-I took her prisoner and the number of soldiers trying to molest her grew as we walked to the High Command palace, in those days it was a long walk. I couldn't ignore when she had tripped over a rock and fallen to the ground, lifting the filthy skirt she was wearing. The soldiers went crazy, one even unbuttoned his pants. But I stopped them and kept her by my side until we arrived. Perhaps it was at this moment that Veronika's heart began to soften, I confess that in the beginning she was as hard as a rock. When she went to the cell with some other women, her power interested the High Command. I didn't see how it happened, but those in the room said it felt like an earthquake destroying the walls. When the tremor passed, all the women in that cell were trying to escape. I noticed the movement that was taking place and saw a young woman in her twenties, skinny with torn and dirty clothes, running towards the back gates. I ran after her and realized that this was the new prisoner. She looked at me with a pitying face mixed with inflexibility, at that moment I saw reflected there that she was a box of surprises. She was captured again and the High Command made sure to raise Veronika's powers to the extreme. The result was the death and evaporation of everyone in the lab, including the chief scientist, who was reduced to ashes. They realized that she could not be tamed and tried, with great difficulty, to make a deal. She listened carefully to their options, and I discovered that one of them included me. Vigilance from a solid marriage. My superior thought it was good and I only agreed because I would be promoted to major. And well, she chose me. We married and I revealed my deep desire for her, which resulted in you and Sophie. That unchanging woman fell apart in my hands. In time, Veronika became a woman of the Cerminian High Society, and that was all she ever wanted. You two never got to know the woman she really was. You only saw the mask that she always insisted on keeping. The feeling of rebellion was always repressed, and one day she realized it. It was then that I came to love her. She was again the same woman running in search of her freedom, but I realized that it was already too late. We always talked like a good couple, and one day she was frank and asked me to inform the High Command that she had tried to kill me. The order was that if there was any suspicious movement, she was to be killed immediately. I quickly understood what she was getting at. I hugged her tightly and told her at last that I loved her, and she tearfully replied that she knew and had always loved me. I felt a squeeze so deep, so big, and kissed her with a feeling that I had never shown before. She reciprocated in the same way and then she pulled a pistol from her pocket and handed it to me while looking into my eyes. I shot her and her death was the only thing that made me cry in my entire life, but I could understand. When she stepped out of the mold that society preached on her, she could see herself. She was able to recognize herself. She went crazy with what she had become and resorted to suicide. -
-I always thought that she didn't do anything to be murdered," Samantha finally answered after a while of assimilating the information she had received. - You sound like a fool in love telling this story, general. -
-I know. It's ridiculous, but I owe everything to her.
-Abigail Rudra played an important role in your life? -
-In a way, yes. But she never compared to Veronika. I traveled to Crebeci and met a beautiful woman with black hair and white eyes. I was attracted at first.
-I understand. But, Dad... You know that the snow will start falling this week and it will be difficult to infiltrate the tribe as early as winter. -
-That's why I'm counting on Von and Sophie for this mission. -
-Don't you think your subordinate might not be ready? -
-I don't think so, what concerns me is Sophie. -
-Your orders, General. - Samantha turned to her briefcase and took out a sheet of paper with a map.
-This is the way to Agmundr's house and the layout of his house. - She put the sheet on the table and pointed to a wall .-This is the wall where the guards stay behind. Here...- She ran her finger up to a hut isolated from the rest of the house.- This is where we want to get to. The resistance is stronger in winter, since -20° to them means nothing. They are fifty men armed and protected from head to toe. They fight with spears, have helmets and shields. They show no mercy to children, old people, or the disabled. They are northern Cerminians, but they hate us too much. They are silent and cold-blooded, just like snow. The entrance is easy, just go through the forest behind the house and get to the room. But the guarding is quite complicated in this small village. -
Samantha smiled, but a sudden wave of anger washed over her. She stood up in a daze and wondered what she was feeling. The general looked worried and tried to make her calm down. What happened next was only a matter of seconds. Samantha saw everything spinning and a pain took over her body, making her squirm. She put her hand to her head, trying to stop the pain. She knelt on the floor and tears came out of her eyes...becoming ice. As she looked at her hands, she saw her white fingers becoming even whiter, until they turned to ice. Her soft skin grew paler and paler, smoking from the cold that began to emanate. Samantha screamed in pain and shivered constantly as the blood that dripped with the transformation froze before falling to the ground. The oldest daughter of the Chasseur family was lying on the ground, unable to get up, surrounded by ice and frozen blood. Angela and two other servants rushed to the general's office and within seconds of entering they were no longer alive, everyone who touched Samantha's skin with their bare hands had their bodies instantly frozen and destroyed. Legs, arms and heads were scattered all over the room.
Sophie heard the screams and ran downstairs, meeting Von on the way. They exchanged a confused look with each other, and ran in silence to where they thought the screams were coming from. The door to Norgard's office was open and there was a frozen arm in the doorway.
Sophie became apprehensive, clenched her fists and entered the room. What she saw hurt, but only a little. Samantha was on the floor, in a fetal position surrounded by smoke from the freezing of her skin. Norgard, who had been motionless until now, knelt down facing Samantha.
- Sam...- The general spoke in a voice that was a mixture of sweetness and pity. - What have you done?-
- I- I...- She began to sob as she cried harder and harder.
-Sam...- He pulled a blonde strand from Samantha's eyes and threatened to touch her.
-DON'T TOUCH ME! - She screamed while trembling. - I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU! -
-You won't.- Norgard removed the overcoat he was wearing, wrapped it around Samantha's shoulders and finally hugged her.
-I'm a monster, Daddy. - She said tearfully as she clutched Norgard's black jacket.
-You're not. You are my daughter and you are beautiful, Samantha.- he said looking into her blue eyes. - Now tell me why this happened.
-He made me take an oath while holding an ice sword. - Samantha spoke as she tried to calm herself down. - I was stupid, Daddy. Will you ever be able to forgive me? -
-Don't say such a thing, Sam. You're a Chasseur.- he hugged her tightly for a long moment. She let go and tried to walk. Norgard saw Von paralyzed and Sophie just behind him, with an apprehensive expression.
-Saman...- Sophie was interrupted.
-Don't say anything, Sophie. I don't want your mockery. - Samantha spoke as she looked at her hurt, the frozen tears trying to run down her face and her fingers were trembling.
- I'm just surprised.- Sophie broke the silence and remembered the scene she had just seen. She didn't care if Samantha now froze everything she touched, but rather the affection the general gave her. Any false touch to his skin could freeze him, but he still embraced her without fear or judgment. She felt envy. She felt disgust. The closest affection Norgard had given her was weapons and more weapons, never a hug.He smiled sadly and walked deeper into the office, dodging the shattered bodies. She saw Angela's head and torso still clinging together and her smile became a satisfied grin. She looked at Von and saw how indifferent the assassin was to the bodies on the floor. As she looked intently at Samantha and Norgard.He looked at Von and saw how indifferent the assassin was to the bodies on the floor, as he looked intently at Samantha and Norgard. She turned to her father, but a black briefcase caught her eye. She picked it up and pulled out a file with a picture of a little girl with black hair and white eyes. She read it quickly and frowned.
-Who is Blair Rudra?- asked Norgard. -
-This, Sophie, is your sister and your new mission. -