"Yes, sir." Derek fills his chest with drive and marches out the door. His footsteps echo rhythmically through the halls.
'Get, back, get, back.'
Several maids dodge out of the way as he barrels through the manor. His entire being is focused on doing whatever it takes to get those documents back.
'Get, back, get, back.'
Bang!
The sound of the door striking against the stone wall cuts apart the silence of the night. Not having brought a jacket, Derek shivers slightly from the cold. His breathing speeds up like bellows blowing against the fire in his heart. To match this intensity, his pace quickens.
'Get back get back get back.'
Derek had been working as a guard for the Duke for over a decade. His superior is stern but fair. They had even drank together one night several years ago. Duke Avaritan poured out his hopes and dreams for the future over many rounds of beer. He wanted to grow his land, build it up, and make it prosper. The Duke painted a Utopian picture. Everyone would be held accountable, and no one would ever go hungry again. They would all work towards a better future, hand in hand.
Ever since that night, Derek swore to serve the Duke for the rest of his life. He wanted to be one of the brush strokes of that magnificent picture. These thoughts race through his mind as he approaches the Adventurer's Guild. The place which holds the robber who dared to stand against his master.
'Getbackgetbackgetbackgetback.'
Derek almost busts down the large wooden doors as he makes his entrance.
"Where is he?!"
The room falls silent. The suns had just set a couple of hours ago, and the handful of people left turn to check who's causing the commotion. "Where is the son of a bitch who robbed my lord, the Duke?!"
Stunned whispers ripple through the small crowd. Eventually, one guild staff member steps forward to defuse the situation.
"Hello, my name is Shelly. How can I help you?" She asks with a calm smile. Maybe if Derek weren't so worked up, he would have noticed that she wasn't even looking at him. Her gaze is focused on something that has already happened, an irreparable twist of fate; her eyes pierced right through him, landing at some point in a predetermined future.
"I'm looking for that bastard who dared to steal from my lord." Shelly looks back at the rough-looking group of people standing behind her.
"Sir, this is the Adventurer's Guild. I hope you can understand that your description doesn't narrow it down very much."
"His name is Hugo!" Derek rages.
"Ah, right this way." Shelly glides off to the back rooms with Derek in tow. She calmly but steadily meanders through the maze of hallways. Her footsteps echo a much slower song.
'Go, back, go, back.'
"Where are you taking me?" A combination of frustration and nervousness color Derek's voice. It's been almost ten minutes of them walking around in circles without any clear destination, and his nerves were wearing thin.
"Just a minute, we'll be there shortly," Shelly replies, her voice firm. Each step she takes is slow and purposeful. The path she's leading him down is one of time, not distance. Since the moment he first stepped foot in the guild, Derek has been falling into the grasp of the fox that runs the show. This has already happened.
Shelly looks up the stairs to the impeding past. Every word, every thought has been set in stone. Now is the time to sit back and watch. She begins climbing the staircase with practiced precision.
'Go, back, go, back.'
The two strangers ebb closer to the top. The tension builds. Derek's instincts are screaming at him to turn around. The weight of the air grows heavier with every step.
'Go, back, go, back, go, back.'
Just as he reaches the top of the staircase, he hears it. The song her steps have been shouting since they first set off; the rhythmic warning. His heart tightens in his chest, and a chill shoots down his spine, but it's too late. They've already arrived. The gateway to hell stands just before him. Shelly gestures towards the door, regurgitating her last line in this repetitious play.
"The Guild Master is waiting for you inside." Derek gulps at her words. He nods in affirmation because no words will leave his throat. The gateway towers above him. He steps forward and grasps the door handle. We're at the climax. Everything up to this point has already happened. All he has to do now is pull.
'Go back, go back, go back!'
His heart beats wildly in his chest. Even his own body has begun to sing that terrible song. Sweat pours down his face. His grip tightens around the knob as if to crush it. He takes a deep breath.
'Creeeeeak.'
Never in his life has he wished so hard for well-oiled hinges.
The door opens, exposing the face of a pale man. He's standing still, almost shaking, a look of pure terror in his eyes. But something is very familiar about him. He has a similar face and armor. It's as if Derek is looking at his twin brother.
"A mirror?" Derek croaks. It hits him; he's looking at his own reflection. A huge mirror is hanging on the wall, tilting downward to expose the guest. He is the terrified man standing in the doorway. The fact that his reflection is so large makes him feel very small. Eventually, Derek's eyes drift down to the blue-haired woman sitting at a desk. Her eyes quickly skim over the documents piled around. The glint shining in her eye is enough to make his knees buckle. She glances over a few more papers before looking up at him.
"Hello. You wanted to speak with me?" She asks with a cold grin. An overwhelming pressure squeezes the air out of his lungs.
"...Yes." Derek coughs, trying to clear the frog welling in his throat. "I was asked to return the documents taken by Hugo."
"Just come right out and say it. I was hoping we could chat for a few minutes before getting down to business." Jezabel weaves her fingers together to create a platform on which to rest her chin. Her smile deepens. The captain of the guard faces off against the devil incarnate. "Hugo, did you take any documents from this man?"
"I don't recall," Hugo responds from his position behind the Guild Master. He sports a sinister grin as his eyes burrow deep into Derek.
"Well, there you have it. You can leave now." Jezabel dismisses him and returns to her reading material. Derek holds steady. He can't return without the stolen documents. No matter how scared he is, this is nothing compared to what the Duke would do to him if he came back empty-handed. As lofty as his ambitions may be, Duke Avaritan was notoriously cruel to those who defied him. "I said you can leave. Why are you still here?"
Derek gathers all his courage and swallows the bile rising up from his stomach. He calms his breathing.
"I can't return without those documents."
'Tsk.'
Jezabel clicks her tongue at the pest standing before her. They've clearly lost; any further resistance is just pathetic.
"Alright, I gave you the benefit of the doubt before, but now you're getting on my nerves. Get out of my office."
"…" Derek bites his lips but doesn't move.
"You don't get it; you lost. There's enough incriminating information here to exile half the nobles in this territory. You fucks are done. I've already copied these documents and am about to send them off to the guild headquarters in the capital."
"I can't leave without those documents." Derek uses his last thread of energy to gasp out these words.
"Tell you what. You go back to your soon to be ex Duke and explain to him what's happening. I'll keep all the documents in town for the time being to make sure he stays in his place. But if I get so much as a whiff that he's moving against me, I'll be sending everything in an express package to the capital."
"…"
"Either that or I can drop you off at his manor in a bunch of separate bags." The devil smiles at the shaking prey. "Leave."
She gives one last command, and the captain of the guard stumbles out the door. Only when the sounds of his footsteps have receded into the distance does she relax her shoulders.
"Well played, sir." Hugo compliments the Guild Master on her performance.
"I was worried he might not believe me. That would have made things much more difficult."
"And what do you want me to do with the documents?"
"Have these documents copied and send them directly to the capital. They might not be much, but it should help keep that son of a bitch off my back for a while." Jezabel says as she hands Hugo a small stack of papers.
"And the rest, sir?"
"Burn them. There's nothing important in them anyway."
"The Duke won't be happy that you're not returning his documents." Hugo grins devilishly.
"What documents?" The pair burst out laughing before going their separate ways. Tomorrow, the battle swings in full.