2: The Meeting
"Nathaniel, look at me."
He looked up from the ground and faced the woman who had spoken to him. She was a delicate little thing. Her head barely reaching his shoulder, her fair hair was contrasted by her dark green eyes. Beautiful. But who was she? Grabbing his hand in her small ones, she locked her eyes with him.
"Nathaniel, you must promise me that you'll do it. Promise me?"
Her eyes shone with the determination, yet, he could not utter the words. There had to be another way.
"No! You can't do this. There has to be another way, Claudia!" he shouted and broke free from her hold.
Claudia? Her name was Claudia?
"Nathaniel, there isn't any other way. We've been through this. You promised me you would do it."
She had not tried to touch him again. Instead she was staring at nothing and clasping her arms around herself as if she was freezing. But she could not be, it was late spring, the beginning of summer, if anything, it was excruciatingly hot.
He remembered. He had promised her on that very first day they had met. He had promised to follow her lead, despite the ambiguity of her quest. He had promised her a few nights ago when they had laid together underneath the naked sky, when she had finally revealed the last stage of her quest. Suicide quest. He had promised her to… standing there looking at her from the side, he realised that he could not do it. Rather, he refused to do it. Everything had changed and he was no longer the man he used to be. She was no longer someone who he followed due to a meagre exchange of gold.
"Nathaniel, we're running out of time." Claudia said as she turned and faced him once more. In her hands she held something, something that reflected the strong sun. The item temporarily blinded him. But then she pushed it towards his hands and the despite the hot temperature, his body shrugged from the coldness of the steel.
"Claud, I won't…"
"I've already made up my mind and so have you. Either you're going to help, or I swear to Her Darkness that I'll look for somebody else to do it."
"And how will you accomplish that? The last being close enough to a human being we passed, was a fortnight ago. There's only you and me and this endless wasteland!" he screamed.
Suddenly, she clasped one side of his cheek fondly.
"What must be done, shall be done. No matter how much you're struggling, the universe has a tendency to get its way. I'd lie if I claim to not be afraid, I'm terrified really. Let me go knowing that at least someone will remember my existence." Claudia said, whilst giving a sad smile.
"What you are talking about is stupid. Do I really need to spell it out for you?"
"No need. I know. It's fine. I've got no regrets." so she said, and yet he did not miss the single teardrop that fell.
He finally accepted the dagger and raised it. Looking at her, he saw her inner struggle. He was ashamed of his cowardice, and proud at the same time for her bravery. Claudia was being brave enough for them both.
Never breaking the eye contact with the woman he loved, he plunged the dagger into her heart, at the same time the earth below them opened itself.
"Noooooooooooooooo!" Oliver screamed and woke up with a jolt from his bed.
Instead of remaining on the bed, he rolled over down to the floor, grabbed his sabre underneath the bed, and somersaulted to the door. Standing up, he was careful to hold his breath, as the door creaked opened.
There had been no knocking, and just when the door was opened wide enough, a swishing sound could be heard. Oliver looked over at his bed. Imbedded on his pillow laid a small white dart. Without wasting any more time, he jumped from his hiding place and attacked his attacker.
His attacker was a tall man. Despite the darkness of the chamber, the man had taken no chances. Oliver could not distinguish any features of the his face, as it was covered with both a turban and a veil.
Oliver aimed to hurt his attacker, but not kill him as he needed to get information. How could they have found him here? He had not thought them to be as bold as this, to attack within the Order's area of influence, not to talk about in a noble's stronghold!
The attacker was taken by surprise, but he recovered fast. He blocked Oliver's first thrust against him, using two twin daggers forming an X. Oliver's sabre got bounced back as the attacker was much stronger than he had anticipated. Circling each other, Oliver was ready for another thrust when the attacker started to throw darts at him, not letting Oliver get close enough to inflict any damage. It was hard dodging all the darts in the dark chamber, and all he could go after was the swishing sound. Oliver was taken by surprise, when the assailant from nowhere, got too close and made a swing with his dagger aimed at Oliver's throat. Oliver backed right at the crucial moment, but soon realised that he had been cornered.
Bending down again, Oliver somersaulted past his attacker, and spun around. Before he rose, he managed to kick his attacker's back legs and the later lost his balance. Oliver saw his chance, and swung his sabre once more, aiming for the shoulder of the aggressor. The bastard was quick, and instead of wasting energy to regain his balance, he voluntarily went down. Putting both of his hands down along with his head, the attacker raised one of his legs, and managed to kick Oliver's sabre from his hands. The sabre landed with a clang onto the floor. Oliver was at disadvantage. The attacker flipped over and was in an upright position and within the second threw one of his daggers towards Oliver. Avoiding the flying object that was aimed between his brows, Oliver dodged it and made a run for the window. With no hesitation, Oliver sprung and hit the window and escaped the enclosed chamber.
"Oliver, meet my liege and my wife, Laurel."
"Laurel?" Oliver asked confused when his best friend Tommy was pushing him towards the dining room.
"Yes, it's the very same Laurel we both had a crush on as kids. And yes the very same Laurel that once was our teacher. And yes, it used to be sis-" Tommy was interrupted by Oliver's sudden stop. Walking into the broad back of his friend, he started to protest, when it dawned on him.
"Erm, buddy. I know you guys had…erm…differences and all…" he started to stutter.
"Differences?" Oliver growled.
"Hey, she's my wife. Can't you just put it behind you for today? It's not often she's home, being who she is…Oliver, please." Tommy had stepped in front of his friend and held his eyes.
The manly staring contest was interrupted by a female voice.
"Tommy, is that you out there? Hurry, we got a guest."
Oliver clenched his jaw, her voice was exactly like he remembered it. Nodding his silent agreement to Tommy's favour, they both went into the dining room.
"Laurel honey, you remember Oliver, right? You used to teach both of us." Tommy said as he waltzed to his wife wrapping his arm around her waist and placing a quick kiss on her cheek.
"Tommy! We've got guests!" Laurel exclaimed and smacked Tommy's hand from her waist.
She looked just as he remembered her. A tall woman with light curly hair. Despite her thin frame, her red robe showed that she had curves where it counted; oh, like he did not already know every inch of her body? No, this was Tommy's wife now, even as hard as it was to admit right at this moment. She smiled when she looked over him. Those green eyes were complimented by a pair of charming dimples, making her a woman hard to resist.
"Come on, Laurel, the boy clearly needs a hug." a snarky voice suddenly changed the mood of the room.
Everyone's attention went to another figure leaning against the wall. Red again, huh? Oliver thought bitterly. This was not his day.
Inspecting her nails, the woman treated as the room was made of air. She still wore her veil in contrast to Laurel, who only wore her significant red robe. Oliver could only distinguish dark straight hair, which was rather unusual in this part of the world, but because of her posture, it was hard to determine the rest of her. He would estimate her to be a head smaller than Laurel, she was neat but not petit. Everything, from head to toe was red, but a whip coiled neatly on her waist.
"Lizzy, if you are so free to act like a live commentator on my love life, why don't you give me a hand with setting the table?" Laurel spoke without even looking over her shoulder.
"Laurel, this is?" Tommy asked his wife confused.
Lizzy made her way past Tommy without as much as acknowledging his presence. Laurel sending her friend a disapproval look, and smiled back at Oliver.
"This rude person here, is my good friend Lizzy. Head her no attention, she likes dramatic entrances, and Tommy's stunt just now deprived her of that. But she's a good person, really."
"You do realise that I've got ears, right?" the butter remark was made as the smaller woman set the table.
Ignoring her comment, Laurel came and gave Oliver a brief hug.
"It's nice to see you, Ollie." she whispered into his ear, without anyone else hearing.
The moment was over, before he had a second to process it, and before he knew it, they were all sitting by the table.
"We thank Her Darkness for the food…."
"We thank The Lord of Light for the food…"
Both Oliver and the woman called Lizzy had been giving their graces at the same time. And both stopped when they realised the other party would not bend.
Sensing the growing tension, Tommy made an awkward noise, something between a nervous laughter and a cough.
"Now, now. Let's skip the prayer, and just dig in. Trust me, Laurel is a master when it comes to delicious food."
Oliver and the other woman were still sending daggers with their eyes. And then it hit him. Those dark green eyes with specks of gold. If he was not mistaken…
"Lizzy, we are about to eat, and there's no one but family here." Laurel reprimanded her female companion as she was pouring stew into her husband's bowl.
Never, breaking their eye contact, the woman slowly untied her veil.
Tommy let out a big sigh.
"You sisters really know how to do it. My wife is the most beautiful woman in the world, but Lizzy, you are not far behind."
Oliver looked over at the face of Lizzy. Without as much as displacing a muscle on his face, he finally recognised the woman from last night. Also, judging from the woman's smirk, she must have known it was him from the moment he stepped into the room.
Handing him the wine, she did not remove her hands from the carafe instantly, instead she greeted him.
"Nice to see you again."
Taking the carafe, his hands temporarily grazed hers. It was strange, he did not feel it yesterday, but it was unmistakably there. She must be a very powerful magic user then. But why did she hide it yesterday, and not today?
"Likewise."
"You guys already know each other?" Laurel's tone was a bit strained.
Lizzy finally let go of the carafe and Oliver filled his goblet with wine.
"Knowing someone is the same as having a relationship with someone. And that is not what's between me and him." Lizzy causally said and put some bread in her mouth.
Oliver looked at her mouth as she opened it to eat some of the stew.
"Ahem." came Tommy's not so discreet reminder.
"Sorry, I didn't get that much sleep last night." Oliver excused himself and looked over at Laurel with a smile. He could sense that Lizzy's eyes, settled on him for just a second when he had mentioned last night. Interesting.
"To answer your question, Laurel, I have to agree with Lizzy. We are complete strangers, this is the first time we are introduced. Though," Oliver started to pull his bread apart casually, "I would not mind establishing a relationship with someone as lovely as Lizzy over there."
There was a sudden pin drop silence that was broken by Lizzy coughing.
She was clearly startled by his offhand comment, which made him chuckle silently. Laurel helped her friend, by handing her, her goblet and Lizzy practically drowned it, before settling down.
That smug bastard. He had totally caught her off guard, and here she thought he had been a simpleton. A hunky simpleton…No, the jerk had caught her off guard once, he was not to get another win.
He was an eyesore. Despite his good looks, he was wearing those damn white garbs, this time with the emblem which made Felicity's blood boil by simply the sight of it. Despite being the minority in this room, he had had the audacity to grace their food with a prayer for the Light one? For real?
His face was wiped of any emotions, yet, she could tell by his eyes, that her reaction had amused him. And what aggravated her more, was the obvious history between Laurel and this filth.
In this nation, there was the typical feudal system. They got a strong Queen, who rules without a King at the moment. Beneath the Queen, they got the nobles, each governing a state of the nation. Each at the Queen's beck and call. Or so was the idea. Felicity knew, that the nobles were troublesome. This is one of the reasons to why her Sisterhood had been established. It was no secret, that the red Sisters, were the Queen's right hand. When a noble had gotten a taste of power and thoughtlessly believed that they could gain more, by demanding more from the Queen, the Red Sisters were sent to deal with the problem. How it was dealt with depended on the situation, but mostly, the noble would be stripped of his power, and replaced.
The Red Sisters, also known as the Dark Sisters, for their worship of Her Darkness, were among several other organisations or guilds shaping this Empire. There were the Green ones, specialising in the craft of healing, there were the grey ones, responsible for education and there were blue ones, the ones dealing with the defence of the nation. The defence of the nation was not too much about defending the country from outsiders, as the empire was by far the richest in its area, but the defence was aimed at keeping the foul creatures that were a result of an ancient curse at bay. They were top warriors, skilled in the arts of war. And then there were the violent ones. These ones have a high affinity for magic, and thus represented the magical populace.
Lastly, there was an independent Order, the Order of Light. This order respected the Queen, but operated on a more private level. Within this order, there were magicians, healers, teachers, and etc. But they all came at a price. For this reason alone, Felicity loathed them. Not only, did they worship that heather they call God, but they were driven by gold. The thought, made Felicity lose her appetite.
Tommy, Laurel's gullible husband, tried to change the mood by asking his friend to continue on his story.
"Oliver, you said something about a rough night? Five minutes since you came home, and you already got yourself a bed warmer, huh?"
Indeed did you? Felicity's eyes challenged the man across her. Not blinking away from her challenge, Oliver replied:
"It's a fun story. Walter wanted to test my skills after 5 years on the expedition. For some reason, he found it amusing to test me in the middle of the night. I'm ashamed to say that I was taken by complete surprise. He had me cornered before I had time to react, so I threw myself out the window for a quick escape."
"You threw yourself out the window?" Laurel asked in disbelief.
"Ask Thea about it. She was livid when the glass master claimed that it would take at least a fortnight to replace the old glass with an exact replica." Oliver chuckled.
Thea? Felicity thought. But it was another name that caught her attention. Before she could stop herself she was already asking.
"Walter? As in Walter Steele the High Lord of the Order of Light?"
Oliver simply raised his shoulders and gave her an innocent look.
"What's your relationship with Walter Steele?" both Felicity and Laurel almost shouted in unison.
The men stared at the women in surprise, but it was Laurel who composed herself first.
Smiling, she caught Felicity's eye. .
Swearing silently, Felicity, relaxed her posture, and offered an almost smile.
Nevertheless, it was Tommy who finally replied.
"Walter is who Oliver's mother recently remarried."
"Is that so?" Felicity muttered.
"But why –"Tommy did not get to finish before Laurel excused herself.
"Lizzy, would you mind giving me a hand with the deserts?" she asked sweetly. Bless Her Darkness, Laurel you are good.
Replying with another butter remark, both women excused themselves.
"So how long have you been sleeping with him?" Felicity asked causally as she threw a grape into her mouth.
"Head mistress, it's not like you think." Laurel replied submissively. She was standing on her knees and head bowed down.
"Do you take me for a fool?" Felicity's tone still remained casual, yet, for someone who knew her, this was the calm before the storm.
"No, mistress. In one of my undercover missions, I was teaching both these boys."
"They're certainly pretty to look at." Felicity said while sitting on the counter, playing with one of the kitchen knives.
"He wasn't then, mistress."
"You are telling me that he wasn't a heathen when you were sleeping with him?"
"Yes, mistress."
"Never mind. In fact, I believe your little past, might turn out to be quite handy." Felicity said mischievously.
"Mistress?"
"The boy clearly still has feelings for you. Use him…use him to get information about Steele."
"Yes, mistress."
"And Laurel?" Felicity jumped from the counter. Bending down she pulled Laurel back to an upright position.
"Your husband is right, you are an amazing cook. It's a shame I can't taste your desert. Oh well, duty calls."
"Mistress."
Felicity was almost out the backdoor, when she decided to turn around again.
"All good shall be rewarded."
Felicity cupped Laurels face with both her hands. Pulling it close enough to kiss her, she opened her mouth. Laurel's body almost instantly weakened and she released the tiniest of moan. She pulled Felicity closer, . but Felicity was used to this reaction, and held still. The mana that she fed Laurel, was reflected in her eyes. Starting from green, her eyes were now black as the night. Felicity licked her lips, and broke the transmission. Laurel closed her eyes, and opened them once more. Her eyes were back to being green.
"Thank you, mistress."
CHAPTER NOTES
Thank you for reading the next installment of this fanfiction. It warmed my heart, that you guys like the world I'm trying to depic. I'm avoiding so called "infodumps" and hope that you'll get to explore more of this world as the story goes.
I am in the mist of exams at the moment, and I'm also going on a quick trip to London, but I'll promise you that the next chapter is already contructed in my mind, it only needs to be printed out in letters. Also, a big shout, to my wonderful beta:er, I don't know what I'll do without her.
Much love,
