When Diamond swims back to semiconsciouness, she can feel she's lying on a padded bed. The light permeates through the lids of Diamond's eyes. The only clothing she has are her undergarments. There's a pinching sensation of tubes in her left arm. She moans and tries to shift position, but her legs and arms don't move. Panic surges through Diamond, awakening her senses and causing her legs to at least twitch. She's largely unable to move, open her eyelids, raise her head. But her right arm has regained a little motion. It flops across her body, feeling like a flipper, no, something less animated, like a club.
Unaware if she's imagining it, Diamond could swear she hears a man's voice yelling. Rough cadences to it, and she can't help having a vague, comforting feeling that someone is looking out for her. Diamond has no real motor coordination, no proof that she even still has fingers. Yet she manages to swing her arm around until she rips out the tubes. A beeping sound goes off, but she can't stay awake to find out who it will summon.
The next time Diamond surfaces, her hands are tied down to the table, the tubes now in her right arm. Her left arm is bandaged but the tubes dangle off stands by the bed. She can open her eyes and move her head slightly, though. The entire white ceiling, glowing a soft yellow from a single Dwarven light fixture. Her bed is at the end of a row of three against the wall. Another three on the opposite side. A single window depicts the night stars and a full moon. The air smells of something sharp and antiseptic.
The physical confinement makes Diamond panic, and as she's trying to wriggle her wrists through the bands when the door opens and in walks the Unknown Faceless carrying a tray. The sight of her frightens Diamond, but the overwhelming sense of calm deteriorates her fear and she stops trying to escape. Diamond wants to ask her a million questions, but Diamond almost knows she won't answer any of them along with the fact that she can feel a boiling sense of anger within her stomach. Diamond debates on whether or not to speak as she unclips the restraints and sets the tray across Diamond's thighs.
She doesn't deserve the sudden anger that Diamond can feel within her, but since Zusa's attack, any member of her organization or even those that mention her Diamond sees as a threat. She fears she'll unrightfully attack the Unknown member when she's done nothing wrong. She may be part of the faction, but thinking back to Malick and his words, perhaps some of them don't have a choice in the matter. Veera certainly didn't.
The Unknown member presses something that raises Diamond's bed to a sitting position. While she adjusts Diamond's pillow, Diamond risks two questions. She says it loud, as clearly as her rusty voice will allow, so nothing seems secretive. "How long have I been out?"
The Unknown looks to her and holds up two fingers. Two days.
Two days. Diamond's gone over her agreement time with Zusa. She's free.
Freedom. The word alone fills Diamond with a cold excitement that pours through her veins.
Libby! She'll finally see her again! Libby and the outside in general. Even the thought of returning to the Sanctuary makes her smile. Soon she will be home!
Diamond wants to get out of the bed. To see Libby and Malick . . .
Malick.
Diamond feels a pinch of worry. She looks to the Unknown, who's now jotting down notes in a large leather book – and clears her throat. The Unknown looks over her shoulder, then after three seconds goes back to writing. Not long after she walks over and detaches the wires in Diamond's arm.
"Is Malick okay?" Diamond speaks. She turns and walks over to the end table next to Diamond's bed. She gives her a nod, and as she slips Diamond a spoon into her hand, Diamond feels the pressure of friendship.
As she leaves, she closes the door noiselessly behind her, and Diamond turns hungrily to the tray of food in front of her. A small serving of oatmeal, apple slices cut into cubes and a glass of water. This is it? Diamond thinks grouchily.
Tucking a strand of now silken hair behind her ear, she freezes when she sees her hand. Not only has it been scrubbed clean, but her nails are filed in perfect ovals. Diamond touches her cheeks, her lips – the jagged piece of glass removed and where she expects there to be a puckered scar, there is only smoothness. She moves to above her eyebrow where she feels for the gash and there's a thin lift of skin. Diamond had expected stitches, but then again, this is the Faceless. And even if they don't have a Babette, they've got technological advancements.
Finishing the meal, Diamond sets the tray aside and as she tosses the sheet aside, she's arrested by the sight of her hands. The skin's perfection, smooth and glowing. Not only are her scars gone, but those accumulated over the years with Libby have also vanished without a trace. Her forehead feels like satin, and when she tries to find the scar, there's nothing.
Diamond can't help but snarl. She knows Zusa's doing it just to show Diamond how generous she can be as well as ruthless. The mixture of kindness and cruelty ultimately is what probably wins her loyalty from others. Though some can be bought, those who can't ultimately end at the end of blade at best estimation.
Diamond slips her legs out of bed, nervous about how they'll bare her weight, and finds them strong and steady. Lying at the foot of the bed is an outfits that makes Diamond flinch. The purple and black wrappings she was granted, as well as the cape. Diamond stares at it as if it has teeth until she realizes that it's probably all she has to wear until she leaves. Or even until she dares show her face at the Sanctuary.
Zusa no doubt probably burned her Brotherhood uniform, and not thinking of a better punishment than to have Diamond return home in the ensemble of the enemy faction.
She pulls on the black shift dress and starts wrapping the black and purple cloth across her chest, pulling it tight to get much coverage as she can. She continues to do this until her entire body is mummified. If she walked through the streets in board daylight she' earn herself many scandalous looks as well as people sidestepping to get out of her way. Using the spares she has, Diamond pulls her hair tight and secures into a ponytail, coiling the cloth around her hair. The dressing taking a total of ten minutes.
Diamond wonders what Astrid will think is she sees her like this.
With no mirror to see how she looks, Diamond stands in front of the door and after a few deep breaths, opens it and steps into the wide, recognizable hallway of the mansion. The hallways seems deserted with no other doors on it. Disturbed, now conscious and moving, Diamond is growing more and more anxious to see Malick.
He must be all right or the Unknown member wouldn't have said so. But Diamond needs to see it for herself.
"Malick!" she calls out, since there's no one to ask. She hears her name in response, but it's not his voice. It's a voice that provokes irritation and then eagerness. Veera.
Diamond turns and sees her waiting in a big chamber at the end of the hall. It's just Veera. Diamond's feet take off without hesitation. Maybe she should show more restraint now that these people have now been declared her enemies, especially when she knows that one of them must've radded her out to Zusa, but Diamond doesn't care. She runs towards her and launches into Veera's arms. Veera hugs her back.
"Thank the gods you're okay." Veera mumbles into her shoulder.
Diamond hugs her tighter. Instantly she knows that the news has spread out through the organization. Zusa would spread news about this just to keep her initiates in line. Now Diamond will have to face all the other members. Though now she can't tell if she wants them to pity her or not. Then again they might avoid her in the sense that being in her mere presence will earn them a dagger in their chest from Zusa.
Though now all Diamond cares about is finding Malick. She needs to tell him. At first Diamond thought she'd be angry at him on going to Zusa about her escape, but now that she's, indirectly, told Zusa that he had helped her escape, she's just as at fault. Perhaps even more. Diamond shudders at the thought of Zusa doing worse to Malick.
Finally Diamond releases Veera. "Veera, I need to find Malick. Where is he? He is all right, isn't he? I mean, he's alive?" Diamond blurts.
"Easy, easy. Slow down." Veera says. "Malick's fine, but he's out on a mission. We'll have to talk to him later."
"Okay . . . wait, we?" Diamond quotes.
"Yes." Veer nods. She leans in for another hug, only when she puts her arms around Veera's neck, Diamond finds herself trapped in her embrace. She begins talking, very fast, very quietly in Diamond's ear, her hair concealing Veera's lips.
"Listen up. You're in trouble. Zusa's furious about you showing her up. The one thing she can't stand is being laughed at." says Veera. "It's no longer safe for you to stay here. If you do, she will kill you in ways the tributes will remember for decades to come."
Diamond feels dread coursing through her now, but she laughs as though Veera is saying something completely delightful because nothing is covering her mouth. "So what?"
"I want to help. Malick wants us to meet in your bed chambers tonight once everyone is either gone or asleep." Veera pulls back and tucks a few strands of hair behind Diamond's ear. "Got it, sweetie?" she could be talking about anything now.
"Got it." Diamond says.
"I . . ." Veera smiles like normal, tapping Diamond in the chest. "will see you tonight and we can finally catch up on that combat maneuver I've been showing you."
Diamond nods and Veera holds Diamond's hands before she trots out of the room with an extra swing in her walk. Diamond's relieved that the shadow cloak adorns her shoulders as it pools out from her feet, covering her knocking knees. Then she realizes it's pointless. Her whole body is quaking like a leaf. Hopefully it will be put down to excitement or determination. After all, she's escaping.
As she fists her cloak into her hands, Diamond leaves the room and continues down the hall; not caring where she's going, just wanting to get away. The air of the mansion threatens to choke her. A cold, clammy sweat breaks out on her skin and she can't rid herself of the feeling that the chandeliers above her head are about to collapse, to bury her alive under the ruble. When Zusa nearly claimed her life, when Diamond was on the verge of death, when she was done with her agreed time limit to live in the mansion, she was supposed to be safe. From then on. For the rest of her life. But what if Veera says is true, and she's got no reason to lie, Diamond has never been in such a dangerous place in her life.
It's so much worse than being hunted as an assassin. There, she could only die. End of story. But out here Libby, Veera, Malick, the members of the Brotherhood, everyone she cares about back home could be punished with the power of the Faceless' reputation in Skyrim.
Still, she has a chance. Funny, when she was trying to escape, she was only thinking about going home and outsmarting the Faceless, not how her actions could earn her and her friends a dagger to the throat. So now Zusa will act as if she's been in control the whole time. As if she orchestrated the whole even, right down to Diamond's attempt at escape. That shouldn't be too hard to believe. But half the members of her organization are rebelling already.
And Libby . . . Libby will suffer, too, if this goes wrong. Diamond can imagine Zusa being the kind of person to reach out to a whole other person just to get back at one of her own members. Much like other assassination groups, if a member is disloyal, the leader would reach out and threaten the lives of their loved ones – if they have any - and use them as leverage.
The thought strangely makes Diamond happy and terrible at the same time. At the thought that she has so many people she cares for, but at the same time she's filled with dread as she's just written their epitaphs.
As she pushes through a door, Diamond takes an inhale and smells something floral and sweet. Looking around, Diamond finds herself in a hallway made entirely of glass. Long and narrow, light floods through the walls. Diamond looks down and finds the floor still wooden, but the walls completely see through, but she's still trapped.
Squinting, Diamond can detect a curtain of green vines handing over the archway in a spilling cascade up ahead. Flowers dotted the vines, their heavy heads lolling sleepily amid waxy green foliage. She rubs her arms and heads to the doorway. Parting the vines with one hand, she passes through the archway and into a circular room. Countless crimson buds climb the iron-gate perimeters, their interlacing boughs and vines thick enough to form a living wall between the interior of the room and whatever lay without.
The vines and flowers commandeered the domed ceiling as well, though Diamond thought she could detect the mesh of tree limbs and the hint of blue light through one of the thinner sections.
Gazing upward, Diamond thought there must be thousands of the flowers, maybe even hundreds of thousands – every bud the same deep bloodred hue. Gilt details chased the curved wall and netted the dome ceiling far above. The whole room glistened and sparkled like the inside of a Faberge egg. In addition to the climbing roses, long-stemmed roses grew along the base of the trellised wall, their blooms blending in with all the others.
Their overpowering fragrance, like the smell from a shattered bottle of perfume, fills her nostrils with every breath, making her light-headed. A carpet of ruby petals covered the circular marble floor, while several open archways lined the curved wall, all of them leading out into what appeared to be rose-lined tunnels. She takes a step toward the center of the room, her sight set on one of the open archways.
She automatically heads down the long vine-covered corridor, over the footprints, choosing her next direction at random, no longer certain from which way she'd come. The roses seemed to watch her like thousands of spectators as she passed, their delicate heads bobbing in Diamond's wake. As Diamond takes one passageway after another, she couldn't help but feel that she was winding his way deeper and deeper into the garden's maze. The soles of her boots slap the marble floor, the sound muffled only slightly by the thin coating of petals that carpet each passageway.
Turning the corner, Diamond suddenly finds herself in another circular room identical to the first. Diamond observes her surroundings, feeling an urge to go left instead of right, and make the turn. She hastens toward the end of the covered hall, through the opening, and into the largest clearing yet. And here, in the center of the room, stand one thing that catches her attention. High above the brass statue's head and arcing veil, a blanket of roses twined with the decorative domed ceiling, their vines braided with the scrolling wrought-iron bars. A breeze entered the gaps between flowers and metal, sending a cascade of petals raining down.
Diamond finds a gazebo with bay windows sitting squat near a small firepit built into the marble and decides to sit down. The polyester covering offers the perfect shade solution while maintaining a clean and sophisticated look. The steel frame holds an intricate yet open pattern that compliments the overarching feel of the gazebo. The seats are soft so she sinks into the cushions, and the small banisters give her a false sense of security and privacy. Even if it's all an illusion, Diamond wraps herself more into her cloak. With her little knowledge of magic, Diamond whispers to the pit or black.
"Nuruta." And a purple fire erupts between them. It burns bright, then fades to the size of a man's head.
Diamond hugs her legs as she sits on the stool and stares at the pile of embers. Diamond rests her chin on her knees and tries to relay through the events that have happened within a matter of days. How could have gone so wrong so fast? And worst of all, her Brotherhood "family" don't even care that she's gone. Diamomnd can't help but laugh at the thought of the Emperor's assassination on hold for so long. Gabbi must be growing impatient.
Diamond can't help but let her anger at the Brotherhood. She's been gone for nearly a week, and Diamond was the main tribute to the mission. Surely Astrid would've noticed Diamond being gone. Gabbi would've said something to her, plus the contract has a time limit. The Emperor is only in Skyrim for a certain time. But she can't focus on that, her main ideal is to try and think of apologies to Malick.
Would he be mad? Understanding? With his attitude the ideas very. Would he be furious and kill her on the spot? Or deny everything?
No. No he seemed too determined to help Diamond. So bent on getting away from Zusa.
Diamond watches the shadows curl off the cloak as it smears into a single black blob. Watching the fire burn, Diamond closes her eyes and drifts off.
That night, Diamond paces her room anxiously as Veera sits atop her vanity sharpening her dagger. Diamond hasn't seen Malick all day and now her urgency grown into nervousness as she waits for him to walk through the door. She's paced up and down the carpet enough to start a small ware.
Veera had come in an hour before Malick was supposed to arrive and handed Diamond an extra enchanted dagger along with Dwarven warhammer. Diamond tossed it aside onto her bed, not willing to sling it on her back with all the weight of worry she has already.
"Ring the fricken bell!" Veera suddenly says. "If you keep pacing up and down like that, you'll wear through the floor."
Diamond doesn't have to attention to snap back. Instead, she goes and sits down on the bed and begins to chew on her wrapped finger. Veera crosses her legs and sighs.
Suddenly her door opens without a knock and Diamond freeze instantly. She looks up and watches as a purple wrapped foot steps inside, followed by the muscular wrapped torso of Malick.
He doesn't say a word, only shuts the door behind him. He then proceeds to unwrap his face from the purple, black and white. Diamond hitches a breath as his eyes blink before settling on her.
Diamond lowers her face and grips her hands together. "I'm sorry, Malick." She starts. "I told Zusa everything. She brought in for interrogation, and I gave away that you promised to help me escape. I'm so sorry."
Diamond doesn't dare lift her gaze, instead she keeps it to the floor and waits for Malick's entourage of insults and spits of betrayal. But there's only silence, which in of itself is even more excruciating. Diamond fists her hands, biting her lip trying not to cry as he takes her chin.
He lifts her gaze to face him. His eyes are gentle, serene. "I know." Is all he says.
She furrows her eyebrows in confusion.
"News around here spreads like wildfire." Malick explains.
Diamond hitches a breath in her throat, swallowing it down as she robotically nods her head.
"I'm sorry I couldn't do anything about it, but now, I promise you, I will protect you." Malick promises.
Diamond stays silent, just like before, her tongue frozen and leaving her unable to speak. So she nods again.
"Okay!" Veera suddenly pipes up. "I'm off!"
Diamond looks to her desperately, pleading her not to go. But Veera only softly smiles and waves to her, and she simply opens the door and slips out. Leaving her alone with Malick, Diamond nervously fidgets as he gets up, adds more wood to the fire and then pulls over one of the armchairs to sit in front of Diamond.
He takes on of Diamond's hands, which is clutched in a fist, and massages it until it opens and blood begins to flow through her fingers again. The crackling of the fire is the only sound in the room, apart from the blood roaring in Diamond's ears. He's starting on the second fist when he decides to speak.
"The plan is simple." He says. "Veera's going to start a fire in a deeper part of the mansion to distract Eloira and Kiara. Ms. Lulu is out, don't know where except that she won't be back for another three hours. Once Veera alerts the others, we'll meet her in the foyer of the mansion and we escape together."
Diamond nods numbly. Continuously swallowing in an attempt to ease the clogged feeling in her throat, which feels like it's swelling shut.
"Of course it's all easier said than done. Zusa will be on high alert, and her suspicions will arise to paranoia once she sees you and Veera aren't responding. I've taken over one of Eloria's missions so everyone thinks I'm out at Solitude. Once everything's set, I need you focused and ready. Do you understand?"
Diamond nods.
"Say it." Malick forces her.
"I understand." Diamond's voice is ragged.
It's an awful lot to take in, this plan in which Diamond is strangely willing to participate in. Her heart thrums in her chest and Diamond finds herself inhaling deeper and deeper. Malick grips her shoulder and massages it briefly.
"We will protect you." he repeats.
A foolish boats, one Diamond has heard a thousand times. But looking at Malick, seeing his resolve and courage, Diamond knew without a doubt that she believes him.