The servants looked at Judas and Hera with nervousness. The silence was unbearing, a knife could easily cut through. Even the sounds of breathing could be heard which made everyone hold in their breaths as they watched everything unfold in front of them.
Judas was the one who broke the terribly eerie silence on them. He didn't bother touching the cup of tea the maid had prepared for him and Hera.
"It has been quite some time since I was able to come here." Judas said, his eyes falling on Hera's elegant figure who kept drinking her tea without a care.
She didn't reply back to him and continued drinking her tea. Judas paid no mind to her unusual silence and continued,
"Where is Lady Elenor's butler that you took away?" he asked, jumping straight it without hesitation.
Hera stopped her movements and placed her tea cup down. She finally looked at Judas properly, her gaze ice cold but so was his.
"What about him? Lady Elenor was kind enough to give him to me. Actually no, her own butler gave himself to me." she smiled, twirling a piece of hair around her finger.
She looked like a piece of art that any painter would want to paint, capturing this lazy yet elegant and refined look.
Judas shook his head at his baby sister. "Hera this needs to stop. How many more do you want until you're satisfied?"
Hera smiled sweetly, "As many as I want, brother."
Judas could feel his head throbbing at her words. He took in a deep breath, "Release him, Hera."
"Why should I? He's my property. Why are you interfering in my business now?" Hera snapped, clearly annoyed by him.
"Hera. Release him. That's an order."
"From who? His majesty? You? Hah! What a joke." she scoffed.
"You never bothered with my things, brother." she glared.
Hera clapped her hands before calling out a name, "Jonian."
"Yes your highness?" Jonian, who had been standing by the wall, walked towards her and bowed.
Her eyes were cold and held no remorse, "Take him away."
"As you command, your highness." Jonian snapped his fingers and guards barged into the waiting room they were in.
They grabbed Judas by the arms and forcefully dragged him out of the room.
"Let go of me!" he shouted, trying to break hold.
As he was about to remove himself from their hold, even more guards came in and held him down. Hera stared with an aloof look before a smirk made its way on her lips.
"Listen well big brother," she lifted his chin up with one finger, "It doesn't matter if it's his majesty or your orders. None of you have the rights to stop me and never had. So just give up. That butler is forever mine now and I will not let him go until he realises that."
"Hera you!-"
Hera waved her hand as she walked out of the room with Jonian walking behind her, "Kick him out."
Judas could only look at Hera walk away before he was taken away by her guards, ultimately getting kicked out of her place.
"Please do forgive us, your highness but her highness' orders is our command." one of the guards said before walking away.
Judas sighed, running his fingers through his silver hair, messing it up even more.
"Guess I'll do it the hard way then."
Days passed by since that incident, Hera was resting with a bunch of men who looked beautiful but never be able to compare to her own looks. She held a bored look on her face.
"What's wrong your highness?" one of them asked.
Hera looked down at him before smiling, gliding her hand through his hair. "Nothing, just bored."
She looked at the fireplace, cackling as the fire swallowed the wood, turning it into nothing but ashes. Suddenly her eyes lit her, boredom instantly vanishing.
"I have an idea." she muttered to herself, a beautiful smile blooming on her lips, bewitching the men around her.
"Jonian."
Without delay, Jonian stood behind Hera, "Yes, your highness?"
She turned to him and giggled, her celeste blue eyes glistening from the growing fire, "I have something for you to do."
-
Night fell upon Vaidia. A full moon shining up in the sky, ambienting moonlight at every corner of Vaidia. Tiny snowflakes falling down the sky and onto the ground.
Alec could feel his bones freezing up but never showed it. His face still expressionless as he warmed himself up. The only thing he had received was a blanket that barely kept any warmth and there was no heat source in the basement.
He let out a huff of warm air, capturing it into his freezing hands, rubbing it together before blowing more warm air into it. He continued the same process until he heard footsteps coming closer.
Alec assumed it was Hera coming down here to play again but when he listened more carefully, he didn't hear heels clacking on the unsteady floor.
However, he didn't want to take the risk so he placed his hands and legs back into the chains and pretended he was still locked in the cell.
"He must be in here." he heard a soft voice echo through the basement before a small light ambiented coming closer and closer until it stopped in front of him.
Alec noticed a tall figure standing outside his cell, trying to look inside by putting his light source closer.
"Who are you?" Alec coldly asked.
He couldn't see the face as the light source wasn't enough to show. The dark figure kept silent before carefully trying to open the cell.
"Oh? Why is it so easy to unlock?" the figure questioned to himself as he pushed the cell door open.
Alec held his eyeroll back. Obviously, it could be opened easily because he had opened it long ago after Hera left. He had forced the guard who he had beat up previously to give him the spare key.
Though it was his mistake for not locking it back. If it was truly Hera instead of this random figure, he would have ratted himself out.
"Who are you?" he asked again with a frown.
The figure walked closer to where Alec was chained up. He was slightly taller than him by a forehead which annoyed him.
"Alec right?" the figure spoke.
The light source coming from the oil lamp the figure was holding came closer and Alec was finally allowed to see who the tall figure was. It was Judas.
He knitted his brows together, clearly not expecting out of everyone, Judas would be here.
"Why are you here, your highness and how did you get in?" Alec questioned, still keeping his guard up.
Judas shot him an awkward yet warm smile before placing the oil lamp aside so he could help Alec get out of the chains. Alec noticed this and swiftly removed them by himself.
Judas didn't say much about it and nodded, clearly not underestimating his skills. He picked his oil lamp back up again and turned to Alec.
"I secretly placed someone inside here and gathered enough information to find where you were." Judas said, taking a look around the cell Alec was in.
He visibly cringed as he saw the torture devices hidden deep inside the basement. Alec paid no attention to him.
"Pardon me for being rude but what was the reason for you helping me?" he asked, checking outside the cell to find the guards all unconscious except for a few which he assumed were the ones Judas had brought with him secretly.
"Repaying the favour." he answered.
"From who?"
"Lady Elenor."
"Milady?" Alec frowned, clearly not happy about this so-called favour between the two.
"Yes and my apologies however we need to leave soon or else we will get caught." Judas spoke to him once more before turning to the guards he had brought with him, discussing what to do next.
Alec kept quiet and walked towards the end of the basement hallway.
"Where are you going?" Judas asked once he noticed him walking further away.
Alec didn't respond to him and continued walking all the way till the end. Judas trailed behind him quietly. Alec twisted the doorknob and opened the door, walking in without hesitation.
He then proceeded to push the crates away and reveal a medium-sized trapdoor in front of Judas who furrowed his brows in response. Alec grabbed the oil lamp from Judas and lifted the trapdoor up.
"What's in there..?" Judas whispered, cautiously looking over Alec's shoulder.
Alec closed his eyes shut for a moment before responding to him, "Men."
Judas was about to ask him what he meant but when he looked inside, he understood what Alec meant.
"....Are these…" his words trailed off however Alec answered him.
"These are all owned by her highness." Alec turned his focus to the victims below the trapdoor, "My apologies but please wait a bit longer. Do you have enough food and water?"
"We have enough and we will wait for you, sir!!"
Alec nodded and placed the trapdoor down after checking in with them. Judas had a dark look on his face as he watched him push back the stack of crates back.
"We can go now." Alec spoke, walking past Judas, not batting an eye at him.
"..Yes, we should hurry so we can bring more help and get them out safely." Judas affirmed, starting to walk behind Alec.
"They are our evidence." Alec said, his tone flat and uninterested.
Judas nodded, understanding him, "Yes of course. They are also perfect evidence but it's more important to get them out safely isn't it?" he reasoned.
Alec halted his steps, abruptly and stood still. With his back never once turning around, he said,
"As long as they're useful." and with that, he continued making his way to the staircase back up from the basement.
They made their way up the staircase and quietly looked out, checking their surroundings before walking out, proceeding to hide in the shadows as they tried to make their way out of the place.
"If we go this way, it's safer." Judas pointed to the right side.
"No. There's more guards there at this time. Going straight right now is better." Alec advised.
"You seem to know quite a lot already." Judas stated once he noticed how he knew every nook and cranny of this place.
"I predicted this might happen in the future so I remembered the whole layout of this place." he answered.
Judas chuckled, "I see, Lady Elenor is very lucky to have such a butler like you by her side."
The surrounding air around them suddenly became chilly. Alec quietly turned to Judas, his eyes holding nothing but darkness in them as he spoke to him in an apathetic tone,
"I do not know what kind of relationship you have with my lady but I am fairly irritated by it so please do not talk about her as if you are close with her."
Judas blinked, "Uh alright, my apologies. I didn't mean to step over the line."
He heaved a sigh, turning back forward, focusing on the bigger matter in hands right now. After walking and hiding in blind spots guards wouldn't often notice unless they focused hard enough, they finally escaped out of the building and into the bushes close to the outer part of the area.
"We're close to the main palace. I have already prepared an extra guest room for you and either by tomorrow or in a few days you will be able to return back to Lady Elenor's side without another issue rising." Judas said.
Alec nodded and was about to speak when he paused. Judas noticed his silence and was about to ask when Alec grabbed his head and pushed him down, his face almost digging into the dirt.
"Watch out!" he yelled before protecting himself as well.
Judas looked to his right to find an arrow stuck into the dirt with an odd odour coming from it now that it was close by. His pupils dilated as he instantly knew what the smell was.
"Poison." he muttered.
"Play time's over." Alec and Judas heard claps echoing as well as a voice.
"Come out now."
"Don't move." Alec warned.
Then they heard a sigh, "I guess that means you don't mind her dying?"
They heard a loud thud sound before muffled screaming. Alec's face paled before promptly standing up, revealing himself.
In front of him, feets away stood Hera, Jonian and Elenor who were on the ground, tied up and gagged. Black and blue bruises coloured her body.
"Lady Elenor!?" Judas gasped once he saw her on the ground barely conscious and shaking.