Kingdom of Hallos, City of Beswind, Present day.
Sara took a seat a seat on the bed of her holding quarters as details of the meeting returned to her one at a time. The appealing moment of seeing Xeto dragged away and having his titles removed. Though any title of Loradel was worth a fraction of any from another faction. Ered was no king, rather a pretender. Xeto was no knight but a worthless boy drunk on the authority given to him.
A low knock came from the door.
"Princess?" said a woman's low voice from the other side of the thick wood. "May I enter? I am a servant of Ered, I was instructed to bring you a meal." The woman's voice carried serenity, like that found in a mother. Gentle, loving even. It was just like Quill's, her handmaiden. Just like her mother's…
Sara paused for a second before walking towards the entrance. "Yes. Here come in," she called back, pulling the door open.
A well-dressed elder woman stood before her. More wrinkles were added to her face as she smiled. "My, you are a beauty. And you have such silk-like hair, like golden fleece."
"I—" Sara stuttered, the ambush of compliments catching her off guard. "Thank you, madam."
The old woman waddled past her, her robes hiding her feet. In her hands she held a wooden platter with a bowl of soup and a salted bun. "I made sure the cooks prepared this perfectly," she said as she placed the platter on a nearby table.
Sara's stomach growled as she took in the savory scent. It was that of baked meat and simmered vegetables.
The woman put up a finger for every detail she mentioned of the meal. "Not tasteless, many flavorful ingredients. A pinch of salt, but not too much, it'll damage a growing young lady's skin. Warm, but no so much as to burn your tongue. And finally, a warm bun, soup alone won't fill a belly."
Sara smiled. She may have been ages away from Quill, yet it felt as if she was being entertained by the woman's doppelganger. "You are too kind." It was impossible for a Loridian to act in such a manner. Perhaps the woman originally hailed from Zuland.
The woman quickly reached out and took hold of her wrist. "Don't you worry now. Now you should eat. I've delivered meals for Ered's guests back in Loradel many times, but none of them were like you. They tended to be old leather-skins like myself." She snickered aloud. "Old bags like us can't even hold a spoon straight—and our tongues can barely taste the wonderful flavors of a good meal."
The woman's light grasp warmed Sara's spirts. "May I ask your name? Are you from Zuland perhaps?"
The woman patted her hand. "Minku, daughter of Minku. My daughter's name is Minku as well. My family has been at the king's side for generations. All of us born and raised in Loradel. Isn't his highness such a marvelous man?"
A crater of guilt set in as Sara flaunted a false grin. "He is," she lied. You poor woman. Having to live alongside such a flawed man—furthermore you believe it to be a worthy life. Once Ered is gone, your family will serve a true lord. Ered's rule will cripple in comparison.
"I best be going, flower. You eat, you hear? It's delicious. Sadly, I have to help bring food to that cattle of man; King Alvion." She grimaced. "Urrgg, a slob." She walked out of the room and turned, giving Sara an accusatory look. "I'll be back within the hour for the bowl, best I see it dry of every drop."
Sara chuckled lightly. "Yes, ma'am." She shut the door as the woman's footsteps receded.
"Do you enjoy entertaining servants?"
Sara looked up to find the man, the necromancer from before leaned against the bedpost. Any light composer was snuffed out by his eerie glare. "You. Why are you here, Roxas?
"For the blood King Ered. Were you quick to forget what our agreement?" His voice echoed through his mask. "How did you plan on doing it? That is…if you've the mettle."
Sara remained stiff, ready to summon her aura at a moment's notice.
Roxas titled his head lightly. "Why do you fear me?"
Sara gut boiled. "I don't fear you," she fibbed as she waved him away.
"I'm not a deprived old woman. You can't sow your seeds of deception are wasted. Perhaps witnessing Ered's death will be the final tug on the woman's heart. Such a beauty she said you are. Poor Minku has not a single idea of what you really are."
Sara glared at him though looked away as she was met with his deathly stare. She balled her fist. "Don't make it sound as if I'm killing a good man. He is a parasite. His influence poisons the mind of the unwise and he would soon lead them into a conflict they don't comprehend."
"The Heiress. Princess Zuria and her rebels." Roxas vanished, flakes of ash taking his place beside the bed. He reappeared, now sitting cross-legged at the small table. "Is she really a rebel? Or perhaps a woman trying to take back what was stolen from her?"
Sara scoffed. "Stop weaving words into riddles and speak clearly. Zuria killed my beloved." Saying it aloud pierced a dagger into her chest, as it always did. "If left alone, Ered would aid her, shifted by the story of an innocent princess robbed of a throne. But she is nothing but a would-be usurper." She walked closer to him. "A usurper that attacked the fort the same day a legion of demons did. Seems far from a coincidence, wouldn't you say?"
Roxas met her gaze. "You show a bit of spine. Your voice didn't tremble just now."
Sara threw the comment to the mud. "Did you offer Zuria the same arrangement you made with me?" Her voice was laced with steel.
"Ramses was in possession of something that wasn't his."
The Forbidden Auras?
"Yes," he said, as if looking into her mind. "It was The Forbidden Auras."
Sara took a knife from the wooden platter and pushed it up against the man's neck. Her morale weakened as noticed no change in his emotion, no even a flinch. "A demon killed Ramses. One of your demons."
"Assign blame to whomever it is you want; you seem to excel at it."
Sara froze as she looked into his eyes. His features, his voice, it all came crashing down on her at once. Roxas…Alcazar. "You—you bastard." She pushed the knife's edge deeper against his skin. "I knew I recognized you. You look just like him."
Roxas raised an unamused eyebrow.
"Xeto Alcazar, the knight of Loradel responsible for killing my people."
"Ah…yes. He and I were brothers…once."
Sara chuckled. "He's going to be hanged come sundown. How do you feel about that? Could you live with that? Her anger stoked when she got no response from him.
"This act is tiring." He vanished again as ashes flowed slowly to the ground.
What.
The sound of an unsheathed sword came from behind.
Sara's world spun for a moment as a hard knee landed in her gut.
Roxas rapidly pinned her against the wall, his sword barred against her neck. "It's time you shed this false skin of poise."
Sara heart raced as she fought the urge to coil up from the pain in her stomach. The hairs of her nape rose as his sword pushed closer to her neck.
"We both want Ered dead. I need to know that you won't back away at the final moment."
Sara took small breaths, trying to regain her composure. "What about your brother? Don't you care if he dies?"
"As I said, we're no longer brothers."
Sara gulped. "You say that yet not once have you drawn your blade, not until I mentioned his upcoming demise."
Roxas pulled up his free hand, in it was a crimson-colored steel sphere.
Is that a Forbidden Aura sphere?
"Before you finally kill Ered, I'll need to extract a fraction of his blood as he still breaths. Do this and I can assure that you won't become the next target of the Shadowcreed." He pulled back and retuned his sword to his sheath.
Sara coughed as she rubbed at her throat. "Ered will die. Don't doubt it for a second. I will kill him." She breathed slowly. "Who or what is the Shadowcreed?"
Roxas lifted his hand, it malformed and turned into an unnerving claw that seemed to be made of sharpened crimson scales. "Questions that you don't need the answers to." He turned his back to her. "It seems you'll have to kill his servant first."
"What?"
Roxas vanished.
A second passed and there was a yelp on the other side of the door. It slammed open as Minku crashed to the floor.
Roxas walked up behind her. "Seems you have an eavesdropper."
Minku eyes were wide with absolute fear as she looked up Sara. "Y-you said you were going to kill h-his highness? I don't understand."
A sudden weight came over Sara as she saw the women tremble uncountably. She knelt down beside her. "Minku. You're king is a weak man." She kept her voice low but it did little to calm the aged woman. "He needs to be stopped before he endangers his people and that of other kingdoms."
"B-but he's never—he's done nothing but good for us."
Pity forced Sara to place a hand on the woman's shoulder. "You're blind to it, but this is for the better. Trust me."
"No! I can't! I must tell the king. I must tell Ered!" She stood as fast as her aged body allowed. Sobs ran down her crumpled face as she attempted to run for the exit.
Roxas cut her off, digging his sharpened claw into her neck. He pulled back, his fingers ripping her throat open.
The woman's eyes rolled back she croaked. Blood splat on the wooden floorboards.
The scene seemed to drain the room of air as Sara struggled to breath. "How could you…" she mumbled.
Roxas caught the woman's small body before it slumped to the floor.
In a matter of seconds her flesh and clothing turned a deathly grey before evaporating into ash.
Roxas lifted his claw. The puddle of thick blood levitated off the ground and took the form of a small sphere as it floated in front of him. He cupped it in his hand before arching his head back, downing the liquid in two gulps. Blood stained his lips for a second before he licked it off.
Sara shook as Minku had. "What…" She fell to her knees.
Roxas twitched as veins in his neck protruded. His eyes turned into a deep red. "Ered dies at sundown, Princess." His claw turned back into a regular gloved hand. "Don't fail, your kingdom depends on you." He vanished once more, leaving no trace of himself or his victim.