"Is it hatred that ruled the vengeance and uttered comeuppance to the guilty?"
Pisces Code - 3:1
After sending his savior and her so-called attendants to their respected rooms, Bien walked straight to his father's private meeting room where his father, Gareth and withal two more lieutenant generals were waiting.
Settling to a comfortable seat next to his father, Bien narrated how he ended up almost dead. "Father, that asshole let me die!" He slammed his fist on the furnished wooden table, fuming. A sudden realization struck his mind. His eyes gravely gazed at the table as he slammed it again the second time around. "No… he wanted me dead, father!"
"How dare him!" Fabel, lieutenant general of the second corps, clenched his fists feeling betrayed too.
"This is my entire fault for trusting outsiders to handle our internal affairs. I should have learnt from history than it only ended up in destruction." Homobono remarked with self-ridicule.
"It is not your fault father for you have just tried to prove their kindness," was debated by his son.
Homobono shook his head, eyes unable to meet his son's eyes. "That is not why I mean. My failure to see his true nature is what I mean."
Bien couldn't think of any word that could comfort his father's grievance.
"Let's not search for fault, your lord. What we need right now is a plan to exact vengeance." uttered by Fabel.
Homobono's sullen expression changed immediately into rage. He squinted remembering how he welcomed and handsomely rewarded the traitor. "I want him dead!" His intrepid eyes were vaccinating his sword on that man's chest. He trusted the man and let him lead the iota assault of the other kingdom with his son under him. But who knows, the man already planted bait for his son's death and he himself encouraged the traitor. As much he hated Errol for his evident treacherous act, he abhorred himself for an act of handing his family to such malicious hands.
Luther gravely commented, "Your lord, I'm afraid that this is not solely his work. If highlord Ignatius is behind all of this, this matter will escalate throughout the kingdom. I pardon you that we think of this matter highly and cautiously."
They understood the weight of the matter, but they couldn't just ignore their act of treason if things went wrong. Bien was his only heir as Aaron was ill. When he dies, his position will be handed over to Bien, but what if Bien ceases to exist?
'They are trying to seize my city.' Homobono will not let them get away from it. "They started this and I will finish it." He sealed a letter. "Send this to his majesty's court. They started this, and I will gladly take the role of finishing it. Their traitorous act will not be ignored even if it is concurrently happening with the downfall of the world." Yes, he will act according to human laws but he will not desist from reining his vengeance even if there was a war in the west.
They planned on retribution, for Bien was not only a captain but also a son of a highlord that they tried to harm.
⨳ ⨳ ⨳
Under the moonlit, footsteps pattered towards a specific room.
Hovel has a separate room from the two young ladies but just a wall away. Sitting under the bed, he kept a candle on his hand to illuminate a map on his lap when he heard a faint footstep, clearly from careful and cautious pace not to disturb or hint anyone of his arrival. He hurriedly blew up the candle, and folded the map hiding it below his pillow. He then feigned asleep.
The door of his room creeped open with deliberate force. The steps became heavier as if approached him. With the sense of a captain for far too long that he could remember, Hovel caught a knife that was going to strike his heart. The knife was so oddly sharp that it easily cut the corner of his hands when he tried to knock it off of the opponent's grip.
The room was dark but he was sure it was a man in a hood, a strong one built from continuous fight.
"The highlord is all talk," Hoven was sure that their place was guarded heavily in case someone sneak in and assassinate them for poking their noses to someone's business. The one in front of him told him that he was spared from inspection.
The man revealed his face, a broad face that had little wrinkles due to his age. He snorted, "You are wrong, young man. The highlord didn't know I came here." He was no other than Gareth. "That move of yours does not suit your job, young man." He squinted. "Who are you?"
Hoven clicked his tongue, eyes fixated on him with disdain, "You don't believe the words of your young master?"
Gareth chuckled. "Oh! No! Young man! I trust him so much that I can tell if he was hiding something behind his words and that hinted me here."
He thrust his knife but Hoven avoided it. Gareth kicked his stomach that sent him tumbling on the table. He slammed the knife aiming at his skull, but Hoven rolled over his bed letting the knife land on the table. The knife was stuck.
Gareth clenched his fist and followed every movement of Hoven who kept dodging him, unable to find a hole to strike back. Few of Gareth's punches hit him hard. The two locked in a fight when suddenly; the door slammed open wide revealing two faces of young ladies.
Sophia gasped seeing who was fighting. She held Clio's arm pulling her out. "Run!" Her eyes looked at her in horror. "They are going to kill us, run! I'll buy you time!" She shouted persuading Clio to run whilst her hands were shivering.
Gareth heard her cry. He paused from fighting, which gave time for Hoven to run towards them. "You two run." He did not lower his guard. "Hurry!"
Sophia was begging Clio to run but Clio stood there, rooted.
Gareth approached them, confused about what to do. He had proven that Hoven wasn't just Clio's helper, Sophia was one too. But he couldn't reckon about Clio himself. He approached him but stopped midway sensing the tense of Hoven and Sophia who blocked his way to Clio. 'They are willing to sacrifice themselves for her, why?' He knew that some pieces of the puzzle were missing, so he stopped pushing them to the cliff. "You can assure I will not harm her."
Hoven just tensed up more, "The other guards will come soon. Run immediately or we will all die."
Gareth found his words offended. He can hurt the two but not Clio but he found the root of the problem. If he laid his finger on the duo, Clio would surely not just stand still. 'She will help them.' He found himself caught in a mess. The young lady clearly doesn't want to run and that will complicate things as he wouldn't be able to silently clear his intention of coming.
Clio tapped Sophia's shoulder, a hint of giving her a way towards Gareth. Sophia reluctantly stood beside, face flushed indignantly for her own weakness whilst Hoven moved aside, eyes looking down.
Clio faced Gareth but didn't look at his eyes. Her eyes glinted with displeasure. "You know what we hate the most?"
Gareth shook his head but he found himself wondering who she was talking about 'we'.
Clio reached for his shoulder which he didn't stop for he thought a frail looking lady like her wouldn't be able to harm him.
Clio's hand landed on his shoulder and he suddenly felt the overwhelming weight of his body making him kneel down. He lost his strength only able to raise his head incredulously looking at her light purple eyes! He gasped, enduring the invisible weight crushing him to the phenomenon he couldn't fathom, beads of sweat perspired from his forehead. Unknown to him, his eyes also turn into dazzling light blue hue for what he could only see was a monstrous young lady that just a little more pressure from her and he will be turned into smithereens. He asked with difficulty, "Who…who are you?"
The sudden turn of events made Hoven and Sophia change their perspective to Clio. Just her pat made Gareth obediently kneeled on his two knees but unknown to them the weight Gareth's need to carry in that very moment. They've just thought that he obediently kneeled down.
Clio's eyes change back to black. She pulled back her hand and the weight crushing him vanished. She innocently smiled, "Sorry for that."
She turned around seeing guards running towards them led by Bien himself disregarding Gareth's thunderstruck mien from her sudden change of character.
'What was that about?' Gareth was way more perplexed to her more than he was towards Almighties that he has no idea of their existence.
Bien ordered his men to check the surroundings as he approached their group. He noticed the odd looks and tense up muscles of Sophia and Hoven, hate for the former and doubt on the latter.
Bien decided to ask Clio instead, but when he saw Gareth kneeling over, he hurriedly helped him out. "What happened? Where's the assassin?"
Clio tilted her head towards Gareth, "A misunderstanding."
Gareth acquiesced. His eyes reflected horror towards the young lady. He couldn't fathom how she could've done that to a warrior like him.
Bien dubiously looked at him. He ordered his men to leave the room leaving the five inside. He sat next to bed, "My father will be here soon, so can anyone tell me what has just happened."
To his dismay, not a single soul opened their mouth.
Hoven and Sophia just stood behind Clio whilst Gareth stood at Bien's side as if waiting for tacit agreement from Clio who she failed to show.
Silence ruled the room.
Bien waited for the highlord to take control of the matter with a degraded feeling of his authority but none seemed to notice.
The door opened again and two figures entered the room. Homobono found it not messy as he expected, clearly a sign of smooth fight. He scanned the room and jumped, seeing Gareth in a weak condition but found no visible wound. "What happened?"
Aaron noticed a familiar knife stuck on a table painted in red. He scanned everyone searching for evidence and he found it at the hand of Hoven clearly beaten up. He thought he already surmised what happened but when his glance landed at Gareth who he found no wounds or even scratch, was weak as if he had fought for hours. 'What is happening?'
Gareth explained what and why he did that action, but didn't continue the part of Clio's odd strength and eyes. He thought of finding it himself excluding the noble family to his future mess, at least, not here and now.
The more he heard him the more Homobono sank. It just meant that they mistreated the savior of his son; worst, threatening their lives for ambiguous ideas.
Bien felt worst of them all who lost all of his colors for he knew what was true and not, and Clio was caught in between. He stood up and was going to apologize when Clio raised her palm stopping him midway. "For the record, you don't have anything to apologize for. It is a misunderstanding. It's not his fault for finding the truth, for we lie."
Hoven and Sophia gulped. He tensed up thinking she will finally expose them whilst Sophia felt a sense of indignity thinking the same idea as his. She admired her after all.
Clio kept her upright attitude. "I will tell you the whole truth but not for now. In return to ensure that we are here not to harm you-" she pointed out to Aaron, "I will restore his health."
Homobono felt glad. Delivering his supposed to be dead son was already a great miracle she performed. And now, he was given a chance to see it for himself. He grinned as he bowed, "Thank you young lady. Your benevolence will be greatly appreciated by the Almighties."
Clio secretly clicked her tongue. She threw her thumb over her shoulder saying, "Outside and bring any types of needles you have."
Homobono jolted in surprise. "Are you going to do it now?"
Clio nodded indifferently, "I'm not fond of leaving any work undone." Before they close the door, she added, "Whatever you heard, do not come in or else the healing will be disturbed and worse, something bad might happen."
Everyone found themselves amused and baffled. If they just knew the reason for it, they would sink, dejected for sure. After Homobono's command to fetch needles, the door closed, cracking an anxious sound.
Gareth followed them outside, mind drifting from an earlier encounter of phenomena with Clio. He was forming a plan of exposing what she had just done to him and an idea came to his mind after leaving the room, but there were no emotions to show for he didn't know if his theory will be proven right.
Sophia tended Hoven's wound. They didn't leave the door as Homobono did. They waited there, tensed up like Hoven not because they also felt surrounded by the enemy but because Aaron was being cured just behind the door.
Meanwhile, Clio clasped her hands and grinned at Aaron that he found it horrifying. She looked at him with wickedness as if she had finally seen her prey that she longing for.
"Just sit still there," she flicked a pill at him.
Aaron was familiar with it. It was a sleeping pill. He squinted and demanded, "I want to see how you will heal me."
"You will regret it."
Aaron found himself laughing. "Seeing you at work to save my brother is nothing to regret young lady."
"Let me think."
Aaron thought that she would be having a hard decision. Physicians have secrets that they don't want anyone to see and learn except for their disciples.
Clio mused over for seconds before she agreed.
Aaron twisted lips and couldn't utter a word. With difficulty squeezing his thoughts, he asked, "Is…is that it? Will you let me see your technique?"
Clio loosened up her muscles as she imagined her lips rose to the corner of her mouth, but her face just showed her cold and careless expression.
Aaron gulped a mouthful of saliva.
⨳ ⨳ ⨳
Behind the door, Homobono and the others heard a begging shout from inside. They could hear bones cracking but no one dared to open the door and save the poor soul.
An hour had passed when finally, the cry subsided and the place fell to silence once more.
After a minute, Clio emerged from inside. Homobono immediately ran to his son who he found sleeping soundly at the bed as if what they heard earlier was just their hallucination.
Everyone looked at her dumbfounded.
Clio just shrugged.
⨳ ⨳ ⨳
"Internal wounds are…" a teacher kept conferring ten students in simple white gowns quietly sitting at their respected seats listening attentively as if their lives depended on it.
After the morning class, they were dismissed. These students quietly got up and heed their own businesses not caring about the others as if each one of them had their own world.
Aldir waited outside the door for someone and when he saw his target, he held his arm to stop him from advancing whose bruises were visible on his face. His other classmates just passed them by only stealing glances.
Aldir forcefully handed him an ointment which the other party evidently shoved away but his persistence made the other party give up and took it away. "Thank you for the other day, Ameril."
Ameril winced remembering the result of his lie. He hated himself for having such a pitiful weakness, mendicancy and silly character that brought him into the mess of power and dominance. His eyes shot a loathsome gaze at Aldir who jumped in fright and guilt, but unknown to Aldir, the loathsome gaze was for himself that he unconsciously snapped towards Aldir. He tried to sound rogue as he said, "Stay away from me!"
He uttered no more words and just walked out from him which Aldir didn't hinder anymore.
A young lady saw what had just happened outside the door as she was the last student to leave the room. She saw the dejected expression of her classmate Aldir who was left behind with utter detestation to the other party. "Poor soul," she muttered as she followed the figure of Aldir, whose head was down casted, over her eyes.
She was fairly mutual to everyone or she thought so but the air of their room was too humid for everyone to feel the warmth of each company. She began to heed towards her room as she had nothing to be busy about when someone blocked her way. She exhaled deeply as if notwithstanding the presence of whoever that student was.
"Yamea, this is our last time recruiting you to our group. It's now or never." a feminine voice most familiar to her that to its super familiarity, it irritated her whenever she heard it.
That was the only time she brightened up upon hearing the voice. She almost jumped in glee but suppressed herself though she couldn't contain her delight to her tone, saying, "Oh Celia! That is the most fantastic news I have ever heard coming from your mouth." She lighty touched her shoulder as she passed by continuing her statement, "Tell your leader that I am beyond grateful for putting this torture to end and I assured her that I will take no part to anything related to her."
The lady flushed red in indignation but couldn't do anything because she was just ordered to deliver a message. The footsteps from behind slowly diminished but Celia hadn't yet recovered to such despicable derision towards her senior. She stomped her feet heavily when she finally decided to leave the place.