Silvered Assassin

Chapter 09: A New King

"You have failed me again, Argo," Erebus spoke calmly as Argo returned after failing his mission.

"Hmph… useless as always…" Nicolae added, though he was secretly happy that Argo failed. He wanted to deal with Charlene himself.

"This will not happen again, my lord," Argo pleaded with a trembling voice.

"It better not happen again. The next time you fail me, I will kill you with my own hands," warned Erebus.

"Bring that fool in," Nicolae commanded when Erebus was done with Argo.

Two soldiers soon entered the room, each holding on to one arm of an elderly man. Several cuts and bruises could be seen on his face as Alden was dragged towards Erebus. Erebus signaled for the soldiers to release their captive. The elderly man staggered towards Erebus, giving Argo a hateful glance as he went past the general.

"What do you want with me? And who are you?" Alden asked Erebus with a weak voice.

Erebus laughed to himself, "What do I want from you? I thought my men made it clear to you. I want nothing else but your cooperation, Alden. Take it as a second chance. I know you have been going against Argo all this while. Pledge your loyalty to me, and I will forget about whatever resistance you have put up against us."

"Just what are you planning?" Alden demanded.

"The King is old and useless; his only son is a spoiled brat. As long as those fools are in charged of Agartha, we will never progress. This city needs new leadership, and I will be the one who will steer this great city to greater heights. Pledge loyalty to me, Alden, and you will be greatly rewarded once I have control over Agartha," explaining his goal to Alden, Erebus smiled as he waited patiently for Alden's answer.

"In other words, you are revolting against the King. Do you think you can overthrow the King so easily?" Alden questioned, unconvinced that Erebus' plans, whatever they may be, would work.

"Of course not. That's why I spent quite a few years just to gather the support of those who have similar ideals as me. You should know that the council is loyal to Argo and me. With Argo's reputation and his command over the military, that useless King no longer have the power to do anything. Join me, Alden. Resisting against me will not do you any good. Everything is done so that Agartha will prosper," Erebus replied.

"Since when have you been planning this? Was Daegmund killed because of you?" Alden asked angrily as the needless death of Daegmund still lingered in his mind.

"To be honest, I only planned to take over Agartha four years ago. So you could say that I'm not responsible for your friend's death. I just decided to take Argo in when I realized that he had been planning a revolt for quite some time. It's really convenient for me to have half the job done by Argo," answered Erebus.

"Filthy dogs. I will never take part in your treacherous acts!" Alden spat at Erebus as he made known his reply.

Nicolae responded by slapping Alden with the back of his hand. Blood flowed from Alden's nose and mouth as he fell from the impact. Feeling weak and dizzy, Alden struggled to even stand up.

"The rest of you may leave," Erebus instructed, "Including you, Argo."

With Argo and the soldiers gone, only Erebus, Nicolae and Alden were left in the room. Erebus sat down on one the chairs behind him while Nicolae walked up to Alden, who was still unable to stand.

"What do you want with me? Get away from me!" Alden shouted as he saw Nicolae approaching him.

Alden was shaking with fear as Nicolae came nearer. Something within him was telling Alden that Nicolae was planning something sinister. Alden tried to reach for the door, but days of torture by Erebus' men have left him weak. Despite his desperate attempts to stay clear of Nicolae, Alden could not escape.

"Just… who are you?" Alden cried in fear as something did not seem right with Nicolae.

"Keep it a secret, ok?" Nicolae whispered into Alden's ears.

As he was picked off the floor, Alden could hear a cracking sound coming from Nicolae's jaws. It was as if Nicolae's jaws were moving. Nicolae's face then started to crack, as his face started to disfigure. Sharp fangs could be seen growing from Nicolae's jaws as his fair skin turned green in color. By the time the transformation was complete, Nicolae's head was two times the size of what it used to be. Alden was too shocked to let out any noise as he came face to face with what seemed to be a yoma's head. Strangely enough, Nicolae's body remained unchanged.

"Impossible… you're a yoma? This can't be happening…" Alden muttered to himself as Nicolae stared straight at him with a pair of monstrous eyes.

Alden did not even have the time to scream as Nicolae plunged his jaws into his midsection. Ripping out Alden's guts with his hands, Nicolae savored every last shred of entrails Alden could give him.

Erebus watched quietly as Nicolae ripped Alden apart, "How was it?" he asked when his partner was finished with the meal.

"Well, how should I put it," Nicolae replied with a smirk, "The younger ones still taste better."

"Hmm… I knew you would say that. Clean up this place. We will have to prepare for the speech this evening," Erebus instructed.

"Hmm… everything is done so that Agartha will prosper… you sure know how to put things nicely. I can't wait to see how those foolish humans will react when they realize that Agartha's fortunes are none of our concern," Nicolae laughed to himself as he recalled their true reasons for overthrowing the King.

Erebus just smiled as he walked out of the room quietly.

--Section Divider--

Elsewhere, more than 10 miles from Agartha, Rachel suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"What's wrong? Did you detect anything?" Charlene asked when she noticed it.

"I thought I felt something from Agartha," Rachel was not sure if that faint sensation was accurate or not.

"So, any confirmation?" Charlene probed further.

"Nah… it's probably my imagination," dismissing the feeling she got earlier, Rachel quickened her steps to catch up as she had fallen behind by a bit.

--Section Divider—

Thousands of people gathered in front of the palace as evening approached. Standing on a balcony facing the people was one of the elders of Agartha. Taking a deep breath, he walked up to the railing and started to address the huge crowd.

"Citizens of Agartha, I have grave news to announce. King Alarico, our great and mighty ruler, was assassinated yesterday," the elder put on a somber face as he spoke to the people.

There was a huge uproar as the announcement was made. King Alarico had been ruling Agartha for more than 30 years and was well loved by its people. The crowd reacted angrily as they demanded for answers. Raising his hand, the elder tried to calm the crowd, but it was not an easy job. Similarly, high ranking officials and nobility who were present could not believe what they had just heard. Discussions could be heard among them as they tried to speculate the truth behind the assassination.

"After thorough investigations, it was discovered that the culprit was one of the Claymores that arrived in our city a few days ago. The murderer apparently left her weapon behind when the King's guards discovered her," holding up a huge sword for the crowd to view, the weapon was indeed the one used by Claymores.

"The council has confirmed the truth, citizens of Agartha! Those silver eyed witches will not escape our wrath!" the elder looked pleased as the crowd seemed to agree with him. Many were furious that their beloved King was dead, and the majority believed that the Claymores were the culprits.

Some in the crowd, especially the officials and nobles, were skeptical of what had just been announced. Why would the Claymores assassinate their king for no apparent reason? But what was going to be announced would surprise them even more.

Continuing with his speech, the elder then made an important announcement, "With our king dead, the senate has appointed a temporary caretaker until the crown prince returns from his expedition at Udrogoth. After careful consideration, the man the senate deemed as most suited for this job is Argo Zeeman, commander of the army. He was also the one who bravely went against the Claymores yesterday night, as some of you might have witnessed."

Appearing before the crowd, Argo was beaming as the announcement was made. His dream had finally come true. Of course, the crown prince was not going to return. It was a lie by the council. The supposed expedition to invade the neighboring city of Udrogoth was actually an attempt to kill the crown prince. Once the senate announces the death of the crown prince, Argo will be given the status of the King of Agartha.

The crowd did not seem to mind the council's decision. After all, Argo was the commander of the army. Having led Agartha in numerous battles, Argo had quite a high standing among the people. Describing his messed up attempts to capture Charlene as a brave confrontation against the ones who killed the King further elevated Argo's popularity. However, what the common folk did not know was that Argo owed much of his success to Erebus and Nicolae. He did not have that much ability in the first place.

Watching from a distance, Erebus was satisfied with what he saw. Over the years, he had assisted Argo in every way to gain the King's as well as the people's favor. He would make sure Argo was successful in all his battles to ensure that his reputation would improve among the people. He also helped planned the elimination of those loyal to the King and directed Argo to promote those who were considered useful to him.

The yoma that Rachel was assigned to kill was also planted by Erebus. It will force the king to hire a Claymore. Erebus then had Nicolae kill the King with the sword of a Claymore they had killed months earlier. With the senate and much of the military loyal to him, the assassination was easy to execute. By having Nicolae use a fallen Claymore's sword, he could make it look like the Claymores were the ones responsible for the King's death. That was also why Argo was told to capture Charlene, to make it look like he was going after the assassin and to eliminate a future threat. Erebus did not mind having three less silvered eye warriors to deal with either. While the three Claymores managed to escape, the incident still managed to work in Erebus' favor.

With the senate's loyalty, any objections made by other officials and nobles could be thrown back, since the senate had the most authority after the King. It also helped that the people's respect for the senate was second only to their admiration for the King. Now that Argo had control over the city state of Agartha, Erebus could move on to the next phase of his plan.

"Get to work, Nicolae. Over the next few days, we have to show more concrete evidence that the King was killed by a Claymore. The people will need to be fully convinced that the assassination was carried out by a Claymore. Only then will Argo have the full support of those who are not convinced by the earlier speech," heading to his new hideout in the palace, Erebus was certain that his plan would succeed.

--Section Divider—

The forest was quiet except for the sound of crickets chirping. It was hard to see anything as the sun had gone down an hour ago. The overcast sky meant that the moonlight was blocked, and nothing but darkness surrounded the area. Drops of rain soon fell from the sky as the clouds gave way. The chirping of the crickets was soon replaced by the sound of rain falling hard on the vegetation and forest floor. The occasional claps of thunder added to the unpleasant sound of falling rain.

Erwin and Ilse could only huddle together as the storm showed no signs of letting up. The makeshift shelter constructed of leaves did little to keep the rain out as the siblings shivered in cold. The both of them could only wait as the darkness meant that they could not see anything. Earlier attempts to build a fire were unsuccessful, not surprising since the both of them did not have much experience in surviving in the wild. The storm only made it worse.

"Give us a break, will you?" Erwin cursed at the skies as the downpour got heavier and heavier.

"Keep it down, Erwin. The storm will not stop just because you shouted at it," Ilse chided her brother.

It was bad enough that she was stuck out in the wild on a stormy night. Erwin's unnecessary shouting only caused more discomfort to her. Unfortunately, Ilse's comments only made Erwin more agitated. None of them enjoyed the stormy night, but Erwin's negative attitude only added to the uncomfortable atmosphere.

"None of this would have happen if those monsters had not shown up," Erwin started complaining again.

"That's enough, Erwin. Forget about those Claymores. Think of how to survive instead of complaining," Ilse snapped at Erwin as she could not stand his constant ranting.

Fortunately for the both of them, the storm only lasted a few hours. It was midnight by the time the storm stopped. However, they could not do anything as it was still dark. The earlier downpour had made everything wet, and it was impossible for Erwin to start a fire. The siblings were also unable to rest well; the wet forest was not the best place to spend the night.

The night seemed to go on forever as the siblings tried their very best to fall asleep. No matter how they tried, sleep just avoided them. Unable to fall asleep, Erwin and Ilse just closed their eyes hoping that they would get enough rest for the tough days ahead.

"The two of you want something to eat?" a somewhat familiar voice came from behind.

Erwin and Ilse jolted from where they were resting as they realized that they were not alone. Before they could turn around, several fruits were thrown down on them. Turning around, they saw a lithe figure standing behind them. It was dark, but the person's silver eyes could be seen clearly.

"What the…" Erwin exclaimed loudly as he distanced himself away from Rachel.

"Aww… come on. What's with that reaction of yours? Can't you at least pretend to look grateful or something?" Rachel commented with a slightly disappointed look on her face.

"What are you doing here? I thought I made myself clear that we don't want you Claymores anywhere near us?" Erwin responded angrily.

"Just shut up and eat," Rachel retorted as she shoved the fruit into Erwin's mouth.

As Erwin continued to argue with Rachel, Ilse felt someone behind her. Looking back, she saw Charlene behind her. Not a word was spoken as Charlene stretched out her hands to Ilse, offering her something to eat. While Charlene did not show any sort of emotion, Ilse actually felt unafraid. Ilse could somehow feel Charlene's sincerity.

"Thanks," Ilse took the palm sized fruit from Charlene after some consideration and looked at it.

"It's safe to eat," Charlene assured Ilse when she saw some hesitation in her.

Pretty soon, Erwin and Ilse were vigorously chewing on the fruits. As much as he hated to admit, Erwin needed the food Charlene and Rachel brought. Both Erwin and Ilse had not eaten since morning, and they were famished. The wet and cold weather did not do much to help either. The delayed meal might have been provided by the Claymores that Erwin hated, but he could not deny that the fruits were like a god send to his sister and he.

"Why did you help us?" Erwin asked as he devoured the fruits.

"No reasons. I just can't leave the two of you behind knowing that you two cannot survive out here," Rachel replied almost immediately.

"That's strange. I always thought you Claymores are incapable of having any emotions. To think that you would actually be concerned about us," Erwin said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Well, you can say that I'm a little different," Rachel said.

"And stop calling me a Claymore. I have a name, it's Rachel. She's Charlene," Rachel continued as she pointed her fingers at Charlene. Charlene just kept quiet and stared at nothing with her face showing no emotion as usual.

"Hmph… I don't care what you girls are called. Anyway, thanks for the help," picking himself up, Erwin went back to his little makeshift shelter, if it can actually be called a shelter.

"Where will you be going?" Rachel asked Ilse.

"We're not sure. It's obvious we can't go back to Agartha after all that has happened. We'll probably just wander around and settle somewhere," Ilse replied with a soft voice that seemed to lack confidence.

"Come with us. We're going to Xylar. It's not as big as Agartha, but it's a decent city. The two of you will be safer traveling with us. There are lots of bandits and yomas out here. It will be too dangerous for the two of you to wonder in the wild by yourselves," Rachel said.

"We can handle ourselves well enough. Thanks but no thanks," Erwin rejected Rachel's offer immediately.

"We'll go with you," Ilse spoke up, surprising Erwin.

"Sis, what are you doing? How can you trust them?" Erwin protested when he heard his sister's decision.

"I'm surprised at how quickly you forget about those who helped you. Besides, our best bet for surviving is to follow them," scolded Ilse.

"But sis…" Erwin tried to object, but Ilse was having none of it.

"Great! We'll set off tomorrow morning," Rachel was certainly happier than anyone as the thought of traveling with two humans made her excited.

"I still don't like it," Erwin complained, but he knew he had no choice.

"No matter what, my decision is final. I don't intend to die here," dismissing Erwin's objections, Ilse went back to the pathetic shelter and closed her eyes.

"Move it, you're taking too much space," Ilse gave Erwin a little nudge as she tried to have more space for herself within the small shelter.

"You might want to try dieting," Erwin replied softly.

"Ouch! Stop it!" Erwin hissed as Ilse pinched him in his arm.

Charlene and Rachel just rested a few feet away from the siblings. The night was quiet as the four of them waited for the sun to rise. It was going to be a long walk to Xylar, and the siblings needed as much rest as possible.

End of Chapter 09

Hope this chapter is alright. A part of Erebus' plan has been shown now. Not sure if I did that second part of the chapter nicely, but this is the best I can think of for now. I will probably reveal more about Erebus and Nicolae in the next chapter. As of now, I will most likely update this fic once every 2 weeks, kind of busy with my studies and my other fic. Anyway, thanks for reading!

Thanks for reading!