Samael stood rigid on the frozen shore, his hands tucked deep within his pockets. The desolate landscape mirrored the turmoil within him. The once pristine surface of the lake was now a fractured mess, a jagged spiderweb radiating from a central point. It was a chilling testament to the events that had just transpired.
A crunch of footsteps on the snow broke the silence. Rayden approached where Samael stood.
"Your Majesty," Rayden began, his voice laced with a carefully measured concern, "what has transpired here? The lake..."
He trailed off, his gaze flitting between the shattered ice and Samael's impassive face. Before Rayden could pry further, another figure joined them. Leviathan strode into view, his imposing presence dwarfing the simpering Rayden. A brown-skinned maiden followed close behind, her face etched with worry.
Samael cast a fleeting glance at Leviathan, a hint of annoyance flickering in his ice-cold eyes. "It must have been quite the trek from the castle, wasn't it, Leviathan? A curious time to take a stroll by the frozen lake.
Leviathan turned to the trembling handmaiden, his voice surprisingly gentle. "Betsy, is it? You mentioned Aurelia accompanying His Majesty on an outing." Betsy nodded, Leviathan turned his gaze back to Samael" Where is she, your majesty?"
Samael's lips curled into a humorless smirk. "Where do you think a disobedient slave ends up, my dear Leviathan? Perhaps taking an unplanned swim in the icy depths."
The news hit Betsy like a physical blow. Her face drained of color, her eyes widening in horror. "W-what?" she stammered, the word barely escaping her trembling lips.
Rayden, ever the fop, stumbled over his words. "What… what do you mean she's in the lake?" His voice, usually full of forced confidence, now trembled with a hint of genuine concern.
Samael remained impassive, his gaze fixed on the broken ice. "It seems," he drawled, his voice devoid of emotion, "the ice wasn't quite as sturdy as it appeared."
Leviathan let out a low groan, more of annoyance than grief. Without another word, he shrugged off his cloak, the rich fabric billowing in the wind. He thrust it towards Rayden, who instinctively recoiled from taking it.
"Hold this, would you, Rayden?" Leviathan's voice was clipped, his patience wearing thin. He didn't wait for a response before striding towards the shattered ice.
Rayden, cloak clutched awkwardly in his hand, sputtered beside Samael. "Why would you let her… drown? Or why was she even walking on the ice in the first place?"
Samael's lips curled into a smirk. He offered a cryptic reply, laced with veiled threat, "Sometimes, the path to survival takes us through unexpected waters, wouldn't you agree, Rayden?" His words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken meaning.
Rayden, sensing the dangerous undercurrent, wisely decided to keep his mouth shut. Instead, he turned to Betsy, his brow furrowed in confusion. "How did you know she was in trouble?"
Betsy, shaken but trying to regain her composure, stated the obvious. "I… I didn't know. Lord Leviathan asked where she was, and I answered him."
Rayden, still flustered, nodded slowly. The silence that followed was heavy with tension. All eyes were on Leviathan as he ventured out onto the broken ice, his long strides seemingly defying the danger beneath his feet.
The minutes stretched into an eternity. Samael stood rigid, his gaze fixed on the broken ice where Leviathan had disappeared.
Rayden, unable to handle the silence and his own mounting anxiety, fidgeted beside him. He clutched the discarded cloak tighter, as if seeking comfort from the discarded garment. "Do you… do you think he's…" he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper, "dead, your majesty?"
Betsy, standing a few paces away, shot Rayden a withering glance. His self-serving concern, so blatantly transparent, grated on her nerves. Rayden, however, remained blissfully oblivious.
Samael finally turned to Rayden, a frown settling on his face. "Why would he be dead?" he retorted, his voice laced with a dangerous edge.
Rayden flinched under the king's icy stare. "I-I'm just saying, Your Majesty," he stammered, his voice regaining a semblance of courage, "that if… well, if something unfortunate happened to Lord Leviathan…" He trailed off, his eyes darting between Samael and the broken ice.
A glint of something akin to amusement flickered in Samael's eyes. "Then I suppose," he drawled, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "you'd be more than happy to assume the position of Lord of the South?"
Rayden puffed up his chest, a smug smile spreading across his face. "Of course, Your Majesty!" he declared, oblivious to the dangerous game he was playing. "After all, someone needs to maintain order in the South. And who better suited than your most loyal…"
His boastful monologue was cut short by a sudden commotion on the lake. A figure emerged from the broken ice, a dark shape struggling against the water. Leviathan hauled himself onto the remaining solid surface with a grunt of exertion.
In his arms, he cradled an unconscious form – Aurelia. Her face, pale and lifeless, was streaked with rivulets of water. Her chest barely rose and fell, a testament to her fragile state.
Leviathan stood there, a defiant figure against the bleak landscape, water dripping from his clothes like icy tears. His gaze, cold and furious, met Samael's. There was a silent challenge in his eyes – a promise of retribution if Aurelia didn't survive.
The revelation shattered the icy silence. Rayden, his self-serving ambitions forgotten, gaped at the scene unfolding before him.
"Ohh"
A strangled cry tore from Betsy's throat. Ignoring decorum and propriety, she tore across the snow, her skirts billowing behind her. She reached Leviathan's side just as he gently lowered Aurelia's limp form onto the snow-covered shore.
Aurelia's face was pale as death, her lips a stark blue against her skin. Her clothes, plastered to her body by the icy water, offered little protection from the biting cold. Betsy knelt beside her, tears blurring her vision as she frantically checked for a pulse. Finding a faint, erratic beat, a flicker of hope ignited in her chest.
"My Lady," Betsy cried, her voice choked with emotion. "Please, wake up."
Leviathan rose to his full height, his imposing figure casting a long shadow over the scene. His gaze, usually sharp and calculating, held a flicker of unexpected concern. He turned towards Samael, who stood motionless, his face a mask of neutrality.
"See, Your Majesty," Leviathan began, his voice a low rumble laced with a hint of dark amusement, "they weren't entirely jesting about the bodies rumored to be tossed in this very lake." His gaze flickered towards Rayden, who stood rooted to the spot, a mixture of fear and morbid curiosity etched on his face.
"Aren't you going to… help?" Leviathan's voice held a sharp edge, snapping Rayden out of his stupor.
With a nervous stutter, Rayden scurried over to them. He fumbled with the cloak Leviathan had discarded earlier, clumsily draping it over Aurelia's form. The thin material offered little warmth, but it was better than nothing.
"We need to get her back to the castle, milord," Betsy declared, her voice shaking with urgency. "She needs warmth, dry clothes… a healer."
Leviathan raised an eyebrow, a silent challenge echoing in his dark gaze. "Perhaps," he drawled, his voice devoid of warmth, "it would be best to take her to my own healers. After all, one wouldn't want a repeat of the unfortunate incident near… your vicinity."
The veiled accusation hung heavy in the air, a silent jab at Aurelia's near-death experience. A muscle twitched in Samael's jaw, a flicker of anger betraying the facade of indifference. He glared at Leviathan, a silent storm brewing in his eyes.
In a swift, unexpected movement, Samael lunged forward. Scooping Aurelia up in his arms with a surprising gentleness, he held her close, her limp form nestled against his chest. Leviathan watched, a hint of amusement playing on his lips, as Samael's form shimmered and blurred. The next instant, both king and unconscious slave were gone, vanished into thin air like a wisp of smoke on the wind.
Betsy's jaw hung slack, her mind struggling to comprehend the scene that had just unfolded. The king... he'd ....he had simply vanished into thin air with the seemingly lifeless Aurelia in his arms. It defied everything she thought she knew about the world.
She cast a bewildered glance at Leviathan and Rayden, expecting some reaction, some sign of surprise. But their faces remained impassive, almost… neutral. As if witnessing a king disappeare wasn't entirely out of the ordinary.
Leviathan, with a sigh that spoke volumes of exasperation, muttered under his breath. "Cleaning up his mess again," he grumbled, his voice laced with a hint of annoyance.
Rayden, seemingly oblivious to the gravity of the situation, piped up beside her. "Perhaps Lord Leviathan you could perform one of his little… tricks," he suggested, a sly glint in his eyes. "Wipe her memories clean. Wouldn't want the poor girl babbling about what she saw, would we?"
Leviathan shot Rayden a withering glare that could curdle milk. "Little tricks?" he growled, his voice dangerously low. Rayden clamped his mouth shut.
He turned his gaze back to Betsy, his imposing stature and piercing eyes momentarily overwhelming. But his voice, when he spoke, held an unexpected gentleness, a calmness that soothed the rising panic in Betsy's chest.
"Listen to me carefully," he began, his voice low and convincing. "You will forget what you saw here today. The events that transpired on the lake, the… predicament of your lady Aurelia and what you're about to witness, it will all vanish from your memory....it never happened. Instead, you will remember taking a short walk outside the castle for some air. You went for a stroll, and then returned to your duties."
His gaze held hers, his dark eyes seeming to bore into her very soul. Betsy felt an inexplicable pressure, a strange sensation washing over her mind. The edges of the memory, the sharp details of the day's events, began to blur. The image of Aurelia, limp and lifeless, flickered at the edges of her vision before fading away.
Rayden's eyes widened as Leviathan reached for Betsy's arm. The implications were clear – Leviathan planned to disappear with the now-oblivious maid, effectively silencing the only other witness.
"Hold on a minute!" Rayden blurted out, his voice laced with a mixture of panic and irritation. "What about me? Am I supposed to just stand here by the frozen lake all day?"
Leviathan ignored him completely. His focus remained solely on Betsy, his hand tightening around her arm as if to steady her.
"Find your way back to the castle, Rayden," Leviathan finally spoke, his voice devoid of warmth. He gestured towards a lone carriage parked a short distance away, the same carriage that had brought Aurelia and Samael to the lake.
"Or," he added, his voice dripping with condescension, "you can take the carriage."
Rayden's face flushed with anger. The audacity of Leviathan, to simply dismiss him like a bothersome gnat! "I don't want to go with the carriage," he sputtered, his voice laced with indignation.
Leviathan finally deigned to grace Rayden with a glance. His dark eyes held a chilling indifference that sent shivers down Rayden's spine.
Then, with a blink, Leviathan was gone along with Betsy. They vanished into thin air, leaving Rayden alone with the silent, snow-covered landscape and the lingering echo of his unsettling words.
Rayden groaned, muttering a string of curses under his breath. He glared at the carriage, his bravado momentarily forgotten. Walking back to the castle through the snow held little appeal. With a resigned sigh, he approached the carriage, his hand hovering hesitantly over the ornate door handle.
As he climbed in after instructing the coachman, a sliver of unease settled in his stomach. He knew, with a chilling certainty, that today's events were far from over. Rayden, the ever-curious courtier, couldn't help but wonder – just how deep did this rabbit hole go?