At once the stunned people stopped glaring at aloof, if not slightly smug Aidan, whose suspicions were finally confirmed. Their heads snapped to the pale woman lying on the bed. Before anyone could react Maria jumped up and lunged in Lena's arms while crying and laughing at the same time in relief.
"Ley…" Cid released a shaky sigh while raking his hair with trembling fingers, "Dear God, don't ever do this again..!"
The woman absently brushed a lost golden lock from the girl's forehead, her wrist alarmingly thin and fragile, every vein painfully visible as if she lost some weight in short a time, and maybe she truly did… She promptly ignored the Kabul knight and turned her eyes rimmed with deep dark circles, still stark against her deadly pallor to Aidan. This contrast made her look delicate, or more like, breakable, even as her steady gaze was firmly fixed on the Leones. The fact she still seemed so weak, so exhausted worried the present people more and more with each passing second.
"Am I?" she glared at the Triad and only her closest companions, who already got to know her quite well, could see a carefully veiled… anguish deep down in her obsidian gaze.
"Are you what?" Aidan blinked in surprise.
"Did I kill the original owner of this body, or not?" Lena hissed at him viciously, barely reining her rising panic and terror, while angrily pointing at her chest so he wouldn't be able to feign ignorance.
"It only made sense that the current you and Ariana's son were one and the same person, especially while taking into consideration your strange affinity to the dead. No wonder you can speak and even touch them, if basically speaking, you are one of them in a way. Not entirely on this side of life nor on the other, but somewhere in between." the man shrugged nonchalantly as if he was talking about some interesting academic problem and not someone's life. "As for how you ended up in this form? Well, I don't think it's the best time to digress and hypothesize on that insignificant detail and besides…"
Whatever the man was about to say Ley's low menacing growl successfully silenced him.
"I am NOT 'digressing' as you put it so nicely…" her eyes narrowed dangerously for once making him feel oddly uncomfortable despite his age and vast life experience while facing her dark rage. "What I want to know is if I'm some fucking parasite who hijacked this body and kicked out an innocent little soul from it..!"
Eric suddenly paled, "My baby, don't say such dreadful things..!"
"Dreadful? I'd say it's a mild word to describe this…" Lena gestured at herself, her lips twisted in an utter disgust. "So, what the hell am I? Eleanor's 'brother'?! I was supposed to be a boy?" she laughed hollowly in a bitter tone scaring her listeners. "Goddammit! What a joke! I was even raised as a boy…" she turned to Gideon completely not seeing the worried face of Maria who froze in her arms. "What didn't you tell me, O' Prophet? What have you been omitting all this time? You knew… You told Eleanor she should search for a BOY…"
Gideon carefully schooled his expression, his lips forming a white thin line. He guiltily glanced at the frowning companions but refrained from commenting otherwise.
"Why so silent now, huh? It's already over, isn't it? And here Eleanor thought you tried to lie to her as your description differed so much from what Marren told her later on… I should have thought about it sooner. You said 'the child' was supposed to be male, while Marren claimed it to be 'female'…"
Gideon cringed slightly and finally answered "It is true that the prophecy which was passed down to me by the master of my master's mentor was mentioning a male, and it's also true that a quarter of the century ago the vision suddenly changed…" the Leone sighed heavily and gazed at Ley trying to placate her with providing the explanation as delicately as possible. "For unknown reasons the hazy images once again regained their sharpness, this time clearly pointing at the female…" he twined his finger nervously on his lap, "Ley… you have no idea how relieved I was that the vision repeated at all. The alternative was a dreadful darkness drenched in smell of blood blocking my sight, as if there was no future at all. Whatever happened, only thanks to that we averted the worst catastrophe as it undoubtedly would have been if Eleanor reached her full potential and learned how to use it for her benefit."
Lena forced her body to listen to her and slowly pushed up on her elbows to a half-sitting position, her eyes almost casting thunderbolts. "What the fuck am I? Some sick creature inserted in the most available container so I'd 'mature enough' to kill the 'malfunction'? What, a bloody container?! It was another baby I kicked out to take its place!" her menacing growl echoed in a stunned silence.
"ENOUGH!" shaken Chun Hei glared at Lena, "Yu shall say no more! I do not know what these people put in yur head, but know one thing," the nanny grabbed Ley's hand almost desperately in her much smaller one, feverishly hoping her words would reach the young woman even if Granny herself wasn't too sure of them. "Among our people, among our race… the race yur mother came from… whenever a woman is expecting a baby, soon after it starts to grow within her, she is able to feel its aura," ashen Granny paused and searched the closed face of the young woman, whose similar black eyes were filled with hidden distress. "Zara was a late bloomer, that much is true, but her powers did awaken… she was still young and untrained, but she always seemed to know the deepest desires of people around her."
Chun Hei glanced briefly at Ronit and Maeve. "We do not have the same abilities as Leone, but sometimes the effect is the same… My Zara could feel faint random thoughts and feelings of people around her, though it was only a whisper at the back of her mind," the exotic woman exhaled slowly, "That's why I knew how to mute the powers of Leones. My empress didn't have such strong ability as these two girls over there, but instead she had a mixture of their combined powers. Thanks to that, Zara left the capital the moment she sensed interest of the usurper in her. At that time she wasn't even aware why she felt so insecure near that man since he never threatened her outwardly and in the end she took this premonition as a simple woman's intuition."
Granny peered in Lena's eyes as if searching for something, "The thing Zara didn't know is, that if she didn't sense the aura of little one before and only suspected she was in a blessed state, then there was no baby within her yet. Yu did not kill anyone, since there wasn't any baby to begin with…" the nanny brushed delicately Ley's cheek, "Yu gave my Zara a reason to live, yu forced her to move forward… Yu ar her baby, her tiny miracle… What yu did wasn't killing another being, yu simply filled her with life…" If I only knew the true answer to that… Is it what they call a 'white lie'? That child suffered enough even without this unnecessary guilt! Enough is enough..! I will not allow to burden her with something as uncertain as this…
Something close to desperate hope flashed in Lena's eyes, but she quickly covered it with a fierce scowl as if too afraid to believe in Chun Hei's words. She fell tiredly on her pillows as if maintaining this pose was too exhausting, which alarmed her friends even more and then she pinched the base of her nose in effort to collect her chaotic thoughts.
A second later a bitter chuckle escaped her lips, "This is soo wrong… So what? I was supposed to be a man? What the hell…" she muttered under her nose hotly, "I'm heterosexual goddammit..! Or maybe it's the other way around? Maybe from the very beginning I was homosexual who got lucky and received a better-suited body? Duh! What a joke..!"
"Hetero-what?" Shine frowned worriedly at her puzzling comment.
"Wasn't this homo-something describing, you know…" Eric blushed slightly while whispering to the Patriarch "…when two men… khm, you know what I mean..?" he waved his hand helplessly unable to finish his sentence to the confused, frowning Leone.
Lena wasn't even aware how much her mumbled words disturbed her companions, the male part probably the most, as she still grumbled about frigging paradoxes and so on. Finally, she sighed heavily, her eyelids as if weighting tons and asked, "I'm not in the mood to discuss that at the moment, instead tell me… What happened? I only remember the moment the dome started cracking, how is it that we didn't end up smashed..?"
"You don't remember what happened next?" Sharris gaped at her, "Girl! You have no idea what a mess you caused! Everyone is gossiping about it…"
Lena froze like a deer caught in the lights, "B-but I'm sure the Leone Tribe can create something like this! For Chrissake! I even met one of their women who could! Leone were dubbed as mysterious fairies from legends for centuries, I'm not anything new..!" her voice was slightly rising with each word.
"Well, not that I'm not flattered by this description, my dear," the Patriarch gazed at her deeply as if looking for physical proof of what he just witnessed, his eyes constantly returning to her forehead and what was hidden beneath her fringe, "As it is nice you think we are so special, I'm afraid no member of my tribe would have been able to create barrier this big…"
Lena swallowed sickly, her eyes as huge as saucers, which could have been even comical if not for the fact that she paled even more.
"W-what did I d-do next? Why don't I remember it..?" she stammered almost morosely which was even more alarming since it was so not like her. "How much time had passed? How many casualties do we have?" Lena inquired in a rapid succession as if trying to end this agony of lack of knowledge as fast as possible, almost like ripping off the bandage in one go.
Lucien sighed discreetly in relief. True, Ley was far from looking healthy and kicking, but the fact that she woke up was almost as miraculous as what she caused with her powers. She was pale, weak, exhausted and clearly shaken by their uncertain silence, not to mention that she was on the verge of panic seconds ago, but it all was heavens better than no response at all.
"Calm down, there is no need to panic," the Tamirian tried to reason with her, "Everything is all right now…" his tone that of a caring adult trying to coddle an irrationally scared little child.
"The hell it's all right!" Lena snapped, her irritation colouring slightly her cheeks to a more healthy shade, "Don't patronise me! I have every bloody right to have a mental meltdown here, thank you very much..!" she folded her arms almost petulantly and glared at him fiercely.
The young king quickly hid a slight relieved smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth before she could notice it. Thankfully, she reacted as he hoped she would. Good to know that even if her body was exhausted, her temper still worked just fine.
"What I wanted to say is that there are no casualties," he cocked his head at her doubtful frown. "In fact, apart from broken bones, superficial wounds, gushes, scratches, burns and smoke intoxication caused by enflamed debris, nobody died…"
Ley closed her eyes, her brows still knitted, exhaled and muttered in a weak voice, "I beg you, don't tell me it's because I did something utterly freakish… Just don't tell me I'll have to face a damn witch hunt…"
"Well," Sean eyed her worriedly, "You do remember the dome, and I'd say it's far from anything 'normal', but ok, we won't tell you how you blasted the falling rubble to dust…"
That comment successfully caused her dark eyes to snap open once again. "Pardon?" she mumbled in disbelief, partially hoping she misheard something.
"Khm…" Sharris cleared her throat uncomfortably, "You started glowing and kinda… disintegrated the crumbling debris that were falling on you and other people…"
Lena's mouth suddenly went dry as Sahara. "You mean… that we… that I…" her words were failing her.
The Patriarch strolled closer and sat next to Maeve who still had the wet compress over her eyes and was pretending to not to be there. "Child… from what my son said, you were swaying and already losing consciousness, clearly at your limit while upholding the protective barrier," he glanced worriedly at the dark circles under her confused eyes, "What was your last thought? Where did you have the strength to eliminate the danger..?"
"I…" Lena moistened her lips nervously, her gaze wandering everywhere in the room but in the direction of the Leone, "I was pissed off…" she reluctantly admitted, "It was just so not fair..!" she mumbled hotly, still holding a grudge against the 'accident'. "These people got involved because of me in this entire mess and by creating the dome I only prolonged their death while giving them a false hope…" she finally glanced shyly at the patiently waiting man. "The last thing I remember is that I was cursing this bloody situation and growling under my breath that everything would have been so much easier if these rocks just disappeared…"
If you dropped a pin at that moment, surely it would have rang like a bell.
"Woman!" Shine suddenly chuckled shakily breaking a stunned silence, "Remind me to never get on your bad side if the only thing you needed in order to destroy the danger is to get royally pissed off! No pun intended…"
Lena's lips twitched uncontrollably, "Not that I want to burst your bubble, but you already are on my shit-list for what you pulled recently…"
The Leone grimaced theatrically, his expression supposedly pure devastation, "My lovely queen!" he put a hand over his 'aching' heart, "If so, then I humbly beg you! Have mercy!"
The reluctant pale grin finally appeared, "At the moment I don't think I have enough strength to give you proper lesson anyway," Lena turned to Cid with heavy sigh, "What is the situation? And you still didn't tell me what time is it…"
Suddenly the door opened with a loud bang and Sir Wulf growled heatedly at certain two Aran bodyguards, "If you try to stop me one more time, I will not be responsible for my actions! I have to speak with their majesties and Cid, goddammit! It's an emergency! Let go of my arm this instant, you..!" the second he shook off the offending hand at his elbow, he turned to the alcove and froze, his gaze immediately zeroing on pale but lucid Lena.
"Thank Goodness! My Queen, you have no idea how happy I am that you came back to us…" the old lord took a shaky breath, and if Lena didn't know better she could have sworn that he was not only greatly relieved, but also personally happy.
"Hello to you too, Sir Wulf," she cocked her head and her lips curved in a lopsided smile. "I was only resting, no need to fret so much…"
The knight rubbed his eyes tiredly with his thumb and forefinger and exhaled slowly, his features relaxing slightly. "Your Majesty, your timing to wake up couldn't be better…"
Eric didn't like where this conversation was going. "What exactly happened for you to barge here in such a hurry?"
Sir Wulf strolled inside and sat in a vacant armchair "Well, we could say we have a 'rebellion' on our hands at the moment…"
"What?!" Cid exclaimed and he wasn't the only one, "What bloody rebellion?! It wasn't even one day and already we have to face treason?!"
"I apologize," the lord rushed seeing thunderous expressions of the present men, "Perhaps I used this strong word too carelessly, though, to be honest, I don't know how else to call this putsch of palatial servants led by our formidable cook…"
Lena positively gaped at Sir Wulf, "Are you telling me Marry is leading some kind of rebellion? I don't believe this…"
The man cleared his throat uncomfortably and shoot a brief scowl at frowning Eric, "To be more precise, it's rather as if the palatial servants issued a collective strike, refusing to work until they'd learn about your condition, Your Highness. You see, through the last few hours I had to politely refuse our noble guests who 'kindly' offered to provide us with their own healers. Since your condition wasn't something any of them could tend to, I had to repeatedly decline. It turned out, that certain noble who had, khm! Small 'disagreement' with king Eric over here, started spreading rumours purportedly the true reason for our refusal for their medical help was that you are already in a critical condition…"
The more he said, the more Lena's eyes grew wider.
"I suspect some of palatial maids overheard as for hundredth time I refused to allow him to see you, My Queen, and then he accused me of trying to overtake the throne for myself while taking advantage of your uncertain condition," Sir Wulf grimaced as if he bit something sour.
"That bloody fool! I should have strangled him back then!" Eric wanted to surge to his feet, but was immediately pushed down by Frey who glared at him and hissed that he was supposed not to overstrain himself and his broken leg.
Black almond-shaped eyes narrowed dangerously, "What exactly do you mean by 'strangle'?"
The Aran king blinked in surprise at her supposedly calm tone, too calm for his liking, and started fidgeting only to defiantly grumble, "I do not regret it at all. That shameless scumbag tried to put himself as the temporary regent…" he mumbled petulantly.
"Oh my God…" Lena closed her eyes briefly, "Please, just don't tell me you 'damaged' him too much and now he holds grudge…"
"He deserved this, and much more…"
"Father! You are not helping here!" Ley snapped, unconsciously calling him by this most desired 'nickname', which immediately sent him into his la-la-land, temporarily steering him from his heated tirade about brazen fools and just where he'd like to put them, permanently at that.
"All in all," Sir Wulf interjected morosely, "That man accused me not only in trying to take an advantage over Queen Lena, but also insinuated that together with her closest circle we are responsible for her prolonged unconsciousness… As a result, the gossips of your grave state somehow left the castle, and Sevians started gathering at the gates of the palace while demanding to see that their Child of the Prophecy is all and well…"
"Shit, shit, shit…." Lena started chanting under her nose quietly, "So to sum it up," she glanced at the exhausted lord, "Our dear aristocrats are already trying to divest you from your rightful influence within Kabul, palatial servants refused to work until you'd prove that dear Queen is still breathing and as if we didn't have anything better to do, the citizens of Sevia decided to knock at our door to check if the 'hostess' is still there, correct? Or perhaps I missed something..?" one graceful black brow arched almost sardonically.
Sir Wulf frowned at her amusement, "My Lady, as much as I admire your usual sangfroid, I don't think it's the best time to joke…" he commented tartly a little offended by the lack of her reaction, or more like Ley's nonchalant behaviour.
"Oh, stop sulking like that," Lena sighed heavily, "Believe me, compared to what I just learnt, a small putsch is nowhere near anything 'shocking'…"
The intrigued lord eyed her hopefully, but she only snorted, "And no, I won't talk about it now…" the woman glanced at Sharris and grimaced slightly. "It looks like I have to get up and make an 'appearance'," she waved her hand dismissively. "You all go to the audience hall, while Sharris will help me with choosing my attire, we will meet there in a quarter max. Now, shoo! Off you go!"
The moment the last reluctant person left the alcove Lena with a herculean effort pushed aside her duvet, and muttered to the worried girl, "Now that they're finally gone, come here and help me stand up…"
Shine didn't know what exactly was off…
He couldn't put his finger on it, but he had a nagging impression that Ley was trying to hide something from them. True, they couldn't stay in the room as she was changing, definitely not in King Eric's presence, who after being called 'father' switched to his overprotective mode and practically glared at every single one of them as they reluctantly moved to the door. But it wasn't all to it as far as his intuition was warning him…
As they were heading to their quarters to grab more suitable clothes, the Leone was in the muddle over what he had just learnt. It was much to swallow, but in its own sick way it was actually making sense. He was puzzled over his sister's irrational behaviour, and over the fact that she stubbornly called Ley 'her baby', even though the young woman was clearly fed up with it. Through years he accepted the hard truth that his Ariana went mad due to horrific accidents plaguing her from the very day she met that miscreant, who dared to touch her against her will.
Her sheer stubbornness bordering on complete lack of care about consequences of her actions were nothing but suicidal as far as he could see.
And now…
Now Shine was forced to acknowledge, that his little sister wasn't lunatic as she was rumoured to be in the last years of her life, but from the very beginning had a very clear goal in mind. The goal she moved heaven and earth to achieve, even if it meant risking a war with the neighbouring nation.
The vision he just witnessed also explained why Ley had some confusing Leone traits, despite the fact that she was clearly born outside his tribe, from a foreign woman called Zara. Or perhaps he should call her Jirah?
Never mind that…
It turned out that the mysterious Child of the Prophecy was some kind of hybrid of two gifted nations. Shine suspected, that these awful creatures were forced to look for a perfect vessel capable to give birth to the 'cure'. If they travelled so far, over the vast sea, it meant that just as Eleanor was Leone descendant, her 'sibling' too had to come from just as gifted race. When you rule out the possibility of being born among Leone, since it was too close to the danger roaming within Kabul, it leaves you with one conclusion…
Whatever the race that Zara came from is called, whatever their powers might be, they are somehow similar to his people, similar enough to be used as convenient vessel to give birth to the 'cure'.
Shine hated how distraught Ley felt after learning the truth behind her origins, but a small, selfish part of him, which he really detested at the moment, was somehow relieved that the prophesied saviour was born as a woman in the end. He was disgusted at how his thoughts continued to circle to what could have been, and what the final result was. True, Ley is Ley, no matter what kind of body she possessed, but he couldn't deny that it was much easier for him when she was born as a female.
It meant that he could hope for a true family with her, which would have been impossible if the things turned out differently…
On top of that, now as it was proved that Ley is somehow related to Leones, then he had a bigger field for his argumentation. Shine was beyond the point of feeling restricted by his pride when it came to this woman. He didn't feel even slightly guilty when he started planning how to point out to her that the safest person with whom she could consider her future should be one of his tribe, so no more 'Eleanor's' or 'Jeggers' would be accidentally born…
Was it petty?
Oh, definitely…
Was it dirty to discredit his rivals in such manner?
That was probably what could have been used as definition of a 'low blow'.
Was he proud of what he came up with?
No, far from that…
Did he care?
As if!
Lena was immensely glad that she roughly mastered the maze of hidden passages. If not for them, it was questionable whenever she would have been able to reach the audience hall before everyone to take her position. The fact her body wasn't exactly listening to her, was both alarming and in a way understandable.
From what Sharris told her, Maria had to patch her up to stop the internal bleeding. The thing she thought was sweat on her face back then turned out to be blood. Partially because of that, while she was apparently carried princess-style to the castle, many witnesses assumed she could be in a grave danger. That's why they were currently knocking at her door…
Before leaving, Gideon warned her to not to overwork herself, especially not with her abilities, as he nicely named it. He explained that from what they learnt, her mind and body shuttered itself into some kind of healing coma after she tapped not only on her powers, but when she run out of them, literally used her own life force to blast the falling rubble.
Or at least, that is what they assumed at the moment…
Frankly? Lena didn't have strength to walk damn ten meters without Sharris's aid, so in her humble opinion Leones shouldn't worry she'd try to use her powers at all in the nearest future.
In the end, Ley managed to reach the audience hall in time. She didn't have patience to crawl up the steps to sit on the goddamn throne, so she opted to perch her butt on the parapet of the window on the left to the 'royal pedestal'. Well, she wanted to surprise her wayward aristocrats, so it would be utterly illogical on her part to sit on the blasted golden chair anyway, since they'd obviously look there first.
She didn't want to alarm her friends about her current physical condition, not to mention, that it would be thoughtless to give excuse to the noble houses while staggering around the alcove like some old granny. And that's precisely why she had chosen a dress of all garbs. The skirt was reaching the ground and hid her legs perfectly, and as worried Sharris assured after short presentation, Ley's stride didn't look wobbly from afar. Better not to look under her dress, her knees were positively at their limit…
Lena hated to feel so exhausted. If not for what she learnt a moment ago, she could even laugh at herself, since the way she moved looked more like that of a new-born foal with long trembling limbs which was trying to figure out how to use them properly.
She shooed Miriam, refusing to try to cover up her dark circles with make-up. Apart from the fact Lena doubted it was even possible to hide them with their poor excuse of cosmetics, she had a plan…
She wanted to look as human as possible, she didn't want to be treated as some freakish creature. And could there be better way to obtain this effect than showing normal tired face? Besides, it's not like she wanted for her noble 'subjects' to conclude that this manifestation of power came without a price. God only knows what they could come up with to utilize this dome she created by pure luck. Lena could see that with this kind of shield, she wouldn't have been worried about Eleanor's archers back then in the arena. For the hundredth time she cursed these awful creatures, who seemed to not care about casualties on their way to the ultimate goal, the goddamn 'balance'.
The moment the door opened, she turned her head to glance through the window and muttered under her nose.
"Show time…"
At first, as they the royal guests entered the audience hall with noble houses of Kabul hot on their heels, Michael frowned worriedly since the room seemed to be completely deserted.
Only now he noticed how silent it was without servants constantly scurrying discreetly while tending to their visitors and their comfort. It was an eerie feeling to see almost no soul within the corridors. The saying that you notice and miss something only when it's already gone seemed to ring true.
Frey quickly pushed his frowning father at the nearest armchair taking advantage that the man was craning his neck in search for Lena. The young prince sighed in resignation as the wolf, which caused quite a commotion a while ago happily trotted to Eric appearing from the shadowy corridor charged at man's feet curiously sniffing at the cane.
The Aran king pouted when Freya shoved at him the ornamented walking stick, but as she simply arched her brow at him, he docilely accepted it. That naturally didn't prevent him from muttering under his nose every few seconds that he wasn't some old fart to need it. As Sigfrid glanced at his father he only shook his head in exasperation. The guy was stubborn as hell, but it was plainly obvious he didn't hurt as much as before once he started using the cane.
Lucien frowned in consternation as the empty throne and as he was turning to the Patriarch to ask if he perhaps knew what was going on, a loud naughty male voice snarled at Sir Wulf.
"Lord Wulf!" the certain noble with idiotic navy blue neckerchief at his throat, as if to announce about his recent ordeal to entire world and with slightly raspy voice turned to the old knight, "You assured that we will meet the Queen! As far as I can see, she's not here…" he pointed at the throne and his voice broke slightly in his agitation into falsetto, as if his vocal chords weren't working properly, "What's the meaning of this?!"
"I swear, I should have squeezed harder…" Eric hissed to himself, and Sigfrid could actually concur, "What is this pipsqueak thinking? Who the hell he think he is, to use such tone in our presence? Isn't he even aware what kind of testimony he is giving in front of foreign guests while confronting him in such manner?! What an imbecile… Stupidity of this degree should be banned…"
"Lord Baltimore, I assure you that Queen Lena will appear soon," the old knight forced himself to unclench his fists. "Perhaps she's still changing and…"
"I have had enough of this! We heard similar excuses already…" the aristocrat massaged his throat absently and exclaimed as loud as he was capable of, "Sir Wulf! What have you done to our precious Queen?! Answer me!"
The moment Eric tried to stand up, all the while growling invectives about maggots and curs, Frey and Sigfrid pushed him right back at his seat. "Oh, no you don't!" they hissed in unison.
"Goddammit! Let me finish what I started! Only a quick squeeze and we won't have to hear this annoying voice ever again..!"
"You can't interfere in Kabul's matters, father!" Frey scowled at Eric, "What will people say if you throttle one of their nobles?"
"That thing didn't even stand next to the word 'nobility' in his entire life!"
"Father, Frey is right, you don't want to make more troubles for Ley, hmm?" Sigfrid once again pushed back his stubborn sovereign, "Imagine what political scandal you could cause. And once again they'd question whenever Lena is a true queen or a simple puppet… And don't forget about etiquette!"
As the indignant king opened his mouth to tell them just where they can shove their etiquette, someone started clapping, successfully silencing the gloating 'nobleman'.
"I'm truly touched…" Lena leaned her back more comfortably on the window-frame and lowered her hands only to fold her arms nonchalantly over her chest.
Michael blinked in surprise. No wonder nobody noticed Ley since she wore some kind of a inky dressing-gown, below which there was something between a white nightgown and a dress. She sat on the parapet, her back perched on the wooden window-frame, in the shadow of a dark curtain. She didn't use anything to cover the signs of her exhaustion, only her raven tresses were untangled and brushed properly so they shone in the light, freely falling below her hips.
As the aristocrats were trying to don proper polite masks Lena smirked under her nose and continued, "I didn't know you like me this much, Lord Baltimore. Your care for my health is truly admirable…" she cocked her head almost curiously and flashed him a wide grin, though it looked more like she bared her fangs at the man. "I understand it was your immense worry for me that caused your tongue to sharpen this much, but I'd prefer for you to speak in the proper manner to my appointed regent…"
For a moment the man looked as if she slapped him right in the face with her casual announcement but he quickly smiled at her serenely.
"My Queen!" the lowly worm, which just begged to be squashed if someone asked Eric about his humble opinion, bowed gallantly proving that he wasn't a noble in name only, but someone actually went through pure hell of banging into his thick scull some manners, "We are overjoyed that you finally could honour us with your presence…"
Lena nested herself more comfortably on her perch, clearly having no intention to sit on the throne and shrugged, "I'm afraid you'll have to forgive me my current attire, I got up from my bed the moment I learnt that my dear nobles fear about my condition," now the most persistent aristocrats seemed to be petty as they 'dragged-the-queen-from-her-bed' literary at that. "I rushed here the moment I felt better in order to announce a few things…"
She promptly ignored the frowns the present people exchanged at her strange choice of seat. "I'm afraid that because of the recent unexpected events I didn't have time to announce the chain of command if I'm…" she tapped at her lower lip with her forefinger and then smiled charmingly, "Ah~ If I'm unavailable…" Ley straightened with reverence some invisible wrinkle on her gown, as if it was much more interesting than Baltimore and company.
Finally, she raised her head and pierced the idiot with the blue hanky on the throat with her dark narrowed gaze. "If I fall ill, or for some reason I am not around, Sir Wulf, one of the Great Twelve Knights shall take the position of the Lord Regent," she followed with her exotic almond-shaped eyes from face to face, a slight sardonic smile playing on her lips. "If Sir Wulf too is not around, then the duty to oversee the Kabul in our absence will be bestowed upon Sir Cid, son of Lord Ruan, also one of the Twelve Knights…"
Hearing that, startled Cid froze, his head jerking to Ley who for once tonight smiled honestly from ear to ear, like a cat who ate the whole jar of cream. The Kabul knight wanted to argue, but thanks to Michael's nudge in the ribs remembered that they had an audience. Apparently the Child of the Prophecy wasn't finished with getting even with her friends.
One graceful dark brow arched, "I hope that this will clear any future misunderstandings, hmm..?"
Both Wulf and Cid bowed their heads while assuring that they are most honoured by her decision.
Eric smirked under his nose as he saw how that utter idiot was steaming silently, unable to say a word of protest, since both appointed men were of noble origins. One was older that Baltimore himself, one much younger than him, and completely unrelated to internal political tug-of-war within Sevia and Kabul. Truly, it'd be hard to accuse Cid of taking anyone's side, since he never took part in this deceiving dance of politicians.
"If this matter is cleared, then I'd like to…" Lena slowly stood up but before she could finish sentence another noble bowed respectfully and inquired, "My Queen, my name is George McInnis, before you return to your desired rest, could you grant me an honour to ask Your Majesty one question?"
The exotic woman leaned her back on the wall and once again folded her arms, "Well, you already asked one question…" she pointed out but waved her hand as he froze consumed with indecision, "Go ahead, ask what you want to know, but make it quick…"
The man squared his broad shoulders as if he was preparing for a battle, jutted his chin almost daringly, "Your Highness, today was supposed to be a special moment for every citizen of Kabul, but instead a catastrophe happened…"
Lena pinched the base of her nose and muttered under her nose so quietly nobody but Sharris standing close to her could hear it, "It was supposed to be a quick question…"
"We do not know what exactly happened yet," the man continued while drying his perspiring forehead with a small white rag, his hand trembling visibly, "Most of us were already halfway towards the palace, when the explosion occurred…" he raised his brown eyes and Lena noticed that his greying temples were contrasting with his short curly black hair, "B-but what we heard about this incident…" he hesitated, "It was… an unbelievable rumour…"
Ley carefully schooled her features and only cocked her head. "State your question, George McInnis. Quit tiptoeing, you don't have to be afraid, I don't bite… too much…" she whispered the last word, but fortunately the agitated man didn't hear that part.
"T-then…" he gulped as if before diving into a deep pond, "Is it true?"
Despite his nervousness, or more like because of it, Lena had no intention to make this easy for him. "What is true?" she gazed at him innocently.
"That Your Majesty…" the lord was desperately looking for the best word, "created magic?"
Hearing this particular description Ley fought to stifle her irritated groan and decided to finish this now. "I assume you are asking if I did create the protective barrier above the heads of innocent Sevians as the rubbles were falling upon them," she pushed from the wall and slowly carefully strolled towards the throne. It looked like she'd need this blasted chair today after all. "The answer is: yes…"
The stunned silence was quickly replaced by chaotic mixed exclamations, and as much as Lena wanted to focus on her goal, she couldn't miss terrified and perplexed expressions of the people who were parting before her, as if she was a saint or a leper, depending on their current mood and point of view.
She really hated their wary faces, how they flinched as the rim of her dressing-gown even brushed the floor near their feet.
Talk about being treated as a wacko…
Lena stopped in the middle of the crowd in front of Baltimore, who guardedly surveyed her from head to toes and instead of moving out of her way actually asked, "Just WHAT are you?" something close to fear flickered in his beady eyes that were nearly swallowed by his fat cheeks.
Ouch! That hurt…
Well, it's not like she expected them to be rational about it, but being degraded from human being to a 'thing' indeed stung. Was it really that difficult to say 'who' instead of 'what'..?
Michael hated their expressions. Some were terrified, and perhaps they had hoped Ley would deny these ridiculous gossips. Trust her not to care at all and shove the truth in their faces. Though, he had to admit, it wasn't like she could feign ignorance. Not while entire city lived already with the tale about an unexpected miracle and the woman who created it.
The silver-haired man gritted his teeth as he noticed a few more dangerous expressions.
The expressions he knew all too well…
In their eyes he saw the same calculative gleam as he was sometimes catching with the corner of his eye, back then at Eleanor's court. They already were wondering just how to use this knowledge, this power…
…how to use Ley…
What Michael learnt in quite a painful way in the past was that human lust, desire, ambition, greed… knew no boundaries, no limitations... Given a chance, given a sliver of power, only few would refuse the temptation. Most people would eagerly grab an opportunity with the both hands, more than ready to use it for their benefit.
The fact that some of these bastards now dared to look at Ley with their dirty, hungry eyes filled with greed, made his hand itch towards his sheathed sword. Once upon a time, he had this awful nightmare, a nightmare where shapeless shadows ripped the Child of the Prophecy into pieces.
Michael would do everything in his power to save her from the fate he shared…
He wasn't even aware that he made a few steps towards Ley, or that he almost unsheathed his blade. Only thanks to pale Cid who grabbed his wrist in time, didn't he do anything foolish, like hacking that sleazy shitbag's head off…
"Watch your tongue as you speak to your Queen and MY daughter!" Eric hissed viciously, rising to his full impressive height, cane or not, but his voice was completely drown out by an ungodly menacing growl.
Distracted Lena, who was praying that her legs won't refuse to cooperate at this crucial moment suddenly felt a warm body pressing on her hip. When she glanced down she saw a bristled grey fur, laid back ears and huge jaws bared at white-faced Baltimore. When she tangled her fingers in the fur of the wolf to prevent him from attacking that idiot, she could feel constant vibrations of his never-ending growl. The moment the animal felt her hand, it moved slightly closer and to Ley's surprise she could lean on its back slightly, hopefully until the infuriating man would clear her path to the desired seat.
As she saw that the face of the aristocrat that was usually red, blenched even more, all the blood leaving his stunned expression, she sighed heavily and leaned down. Lena promptly closed canine's muzzle, successfully silencing him. "No ripping-out throats today…" she lectured the wolf which glanced at her almost petulantly and started licking her palm, changing back into a huge lanky puppy.
Cid stifled a nervous snort as he noticed that while it appeared Ley was talking to a wolf, she actually started intensively at scowling Eric, who was about to say something. And then suddenly a calm voice cut through the panicked chaos…
"In a time of Chaos the Child will come,
When the blessed land is drenched in blood,
And the smell of death fills every corner,
At that time, piercing the darkness,
The Child who will save us will appear…
The darkness within will protect the Child,
From the awaiting darkness outside,
Ready to swallow it up…"
The Patriarch rose slowly from his seat as he recited, his voice filling the room.
"Fools! You ask what she is even though you already know the answer! She is the Child of the Prophecy! How many times did you use this name? Did you really think it's an empty, meaningless bromide? That title has its price and meaning…" the normally stoic Leone glared at feverishly whispering nobles. "You just heard the full prophecy, which generations ago foretold an appearance of the blessed saviour, and yet you dare to sully her presence with doubt?" his hot gaze surveyed ashen faces and unexpectedly he snapped, growling nearly the same fashion as the wolf a second ago, "And don't you dare to attack my granddaughter, you ungrateful bastards!"
Lena felt the urge to hide her face in her hands, but managed to stop herself from doing it.
Well, shit! Now he had done it!
Shine was fighting his own urge to crack some thick heads when the bombshell fell upon him. As soon as the Patriarch started reciting the prophecy, he relaxed, thinking that perhaps now these stubborn superstitious people would stop treating Ley like some demon.
That was until his father decided to enlighten them about their family connection…
When the stunned nobles picked their jaws from the ground, Shine's back felt awfully hot with their calculative, insinuating gazes.
The granddaughter of the Patriarch…
The son of the Patriarch…
Some foreign woman called Zara…
Ergo..?
Bloody hell..!
Shine turned in a slowed motion to his frozen father, who just now realized what he had babbled out. As their eyes met, the son's glare was so strong that given better missile it could pierce right through the Patriarch's chest.
Never before did the man see his child this mad, and the silent message was crystal clear:
FIX IT this instant, GODDAMMIT!
The Patriarch folded his arms nonchalantly and snorted mockingly, "Oh? But why do you all look at my son now? I'm sure you're not thinking he's my only child, do you? Besides, he is far too young to have a daughter this old, don't you think? For God's sake, be more rational about it all, or perhaps you lost the little reason you were capable of after today's events?" in the heat of an argument he nearly spilled the beans about Leone secrets. Good that nobody knew about the length of their lifespan…
Whenever it was because the old Leone was plainly joking at their expense, or was it because the ages of Lena and Shine, or at least how old they looked like, didn't add, people relaxed slightly, and more importantly, stopped shooting speculative glances at the second in Leone.
"I don't think my blood ties to Leone Tribe are the most important matter we have to address today…" Ley commented coolly while passing by frozen Baltimore, discreetly supporting herself on wolf's back.
"So there IS one… 'connection'…" somebody immediately pointed out, though it was impossible to narrow down who the owner of this comment was.
Lena sighed in relief as she finally reached the blasted throne and took her seat, the canine lying at her feet and observing everything very closely. She didn't sit there long, when the door opened yet again.
"What now..?!" she muttered under her nose in exasperation, more and more annoyed at the prolonging chitchat and melodrama, her bed upstairs becoming more tempting by each second.
As the ornamented door opened, familiar dark cloaks appeared in her field of vision, high from the throne. The crowd parted once again, this time in a hushed silence, when Daniel advanced with Ethel and Kamiel right behind him. In unison they knelt in front of Lena, and it was somehow significant, that Jeggers of all people paid their respect towards the queen properly, unlike so-called nobles.
"Your Majesty, I returned to give you my report about the investigation, though I have to admit that we're still searching for the culprit," Yuriel's brother peered from under his golden fringe at Ley, "Apart from that, I think we found something important for you, My Queen…" he reached under his dark mantle and fished out a small bundle.
As he reverently uncovered it from the dirty cloth everybody saw a reflection of familiar jewels bedded in silver and gold, which in happier times was called a crown. At the moment, the metal band was twisted beyond recognition, if not for the gems and the noble materials it was made of.
Lena was internally torn. Part of her was relieved that this blasted physical proof of her new status disappeared, while the other part of her was furious that someone dared to destroy Aaron's hard work. And the smallest tiny voice in the back of her mind shivered at the fact that her head could have ended in the same fashion if not her Leone abilities.
Abilities she inherited from Ariana, apparently…
Daniel mutely cocked his head in puzzlement as Ley was still sitting instead of coming down these few steps and accepting the remnants of crown. Then he noticed that she wore actual dress, despite the fact he thought that given even the slightest chance she'd jump right into her favourite pants. Why the heck she choose gown when she didn't need to?
"Sir Wulf?" the woman turned to the old knight and gestured towards the crown, "Please, take it to the treasury and later inform blacksmith Aaron about it. Or maybe not…" she suddenly changed her mind as the Kabul reverently accepted the twisted symbol of his country, "From what I heard we have a slight problem with our servants," she glanced at the present nobles, "I'm afraid I'd have to excuse you all for the time being and meet them too. In two days we shall meet again within the Audience Hall. For the meantime, please don't let me keep you waiting here unnecessarily. Hopefully we will know more about the recent events then."
As she saw reluctance of the present aristocrats to leave the room just yet she only arched her dark brow imperiously. "Goodnight, I hope you'll rest properly from today's ordeal," Lena turned her gaze towards still kneeling Daniel as if already dismissing the crowd and murmured, "What do you have to report to me…?"
The Northlander glanced over his shoulder for the last time, right before exiting the alcove. With the corner of his eye he saw the Kabul queen as she leaned closer while absently rubbing the wolf's head and asked about something the leader of Jegger, who stood now two steps below her.
The Lord Regent couldn't believe his luck.
In the past, as the prince Sigfrid's missive reached his homeland about the planned coronation in Sevia, he wondered just why would Aran get involved in the inner matters of their neighbour. Soon later it turned out that the reason was quite simple, considering blood relationship of the Child of the Prophecy with king Eric. That was logical and even somehow reassuring since it was plain that the king would fiercely support her.
When it came to Tamir's involvement, the Northlander heard some rumours saying that a person called Ley contributed greatly during the war with Earl and even was appointed as personal bodyguard of Lucien Winclef. Taking into consideration how intensely the man gazed at her sometimes, you didn't have to be a genius to figure out that he desired the saviour of Kabul in more biblical sense.
What didn't make any sense, was a strange, sudden appearance of Leones in Sevia. True, they were Tamir's allies and together with the forces of Laoud accompanied them during the attack on Eleanor. But the puzzling thing was the arrival of the mysterious head – the Patriarch much later.
And now..?
Now it turned out that the motivation of Leone Tribe could be of the same personal nature as it was in the Aran's case.
That also explained the unexpected manifestation of 'Lena's' power…
Even in his own childhood, the Regent heard unbelievable legends about the mysterious tribe more resembling fairies than normal human beings. As he grew up, half of it he cast away as foolish fables created as bedtime stories for little children. That, naturally, didn't prevent him from acknowledging formidable warriors of this small, secretive nation. Today he learnt that perhaps he shouldn't have dismissed old folklore tales about Leone, so eagerly neither.
The recital of the prophecy brought him chills. Her title was so often mentioned and inflected in so many forms, that you slowly stopped paying attention to its meaning, treating it more like a nickname, if not even a pet-name.
What a dangerous oversight!
The Northlander wondered briefly what the Patriarch meant by the 'darkness' within the Child. Was it connected to her contrasting colouring compared to her brethren? From the very beginning the confusing similarity in the way that woman moved, her impressive fighting skills, were bringing Lord Regent a massive headache. He couldn't shake a feeling that with her long straight hair, despite her plainly exotic features, she was unnervingly similar to Leone. It was as if she was the other side of the same coin, only coloured differently.
And now he had a confirmation…
It looked like he'd have to revise his opinion about old tales, prophecies and mysterious secretive tribes after all…
Lena masked her growing exhaustion as much as she could, though she was slowly reaching her limit. As soon as the frustrating nobles left the room, she got up from the throne and still using the wolf marching at her side as a 'mobile cane' sat among her friends to discuss the pressing matters more privately. As they waited for the next group to arrive they listened to Daniel's report.
From the man's words, Ian and Hyun-min were searching through the remnants of the fallen rubble for the strange markings king Eric described. Apart from the crown, there was not much to find there. The abbot was devastated that his dear old temple didn't exist anymore, and currently was trying to find anything salvageable with their aid. Daniel managed to ask him a few questions before he headed towards the palace.
It turned out that before the celebration, apart from 'conservators' sent there by Sir Wulf, that were finishing their work, the temple had only few visitors. Currently, Jeggers were searching through the city with the descriptions they got, though only one person sat for a longer while near the columns Eric pointed out as 'damaged' by vandals. Unfortunately, that man didn't talk to anyone, and after a few minutes left the temple, his hood carefully hiding his features. Paradoxically, the abbot remembered him only because the guy actually made a handsome donation on the offertory.
So in the end, they didn't have any solid proof, forget about proper description of the probable culprit, the colour of his mantle and approximate stature they didn't count as too vague, besides the man could easily change his garb anyway.
The more Lena listened to the professional 'defence intelligence' of Jeggers, the more she got an impression that she gained a medieval equivalent of MI6 and Secret Service while accepting their pledge, which in a way was even reassuring. To think she'd need their aid this quick while gathering information in her own blasted capital…
Just as Daniel finished, the door opened again and a slightly panicked Aran bodyguards asked if they could let in this small crowd already, since the servants are getting a little rowdy. At Ley's confirmative nod they sighed in relief and soon scowling Marry appeared with Susan and Sara hot on her heels, together with a few other servants and maids, even with Aaron and other men from the smithy.
Seeing this growing crowd of frowning daringly people Lena actually chuckled. They looked as if they were preparing for a battle, a pity their only weapon could be a rolling pin or a broomstick. The fact they were honestly worried about their 'Ley', was quite refreshing after the last encounter with supposed 'nobles', who cared only about themselves.
"Dear God, Marry! Remind me to never get on your nerves! I don't think I'd be able to win against your small army…" Lena joked while leaning more comfortably in her seat, a small grin playing on her pale lips.
The moment the cook heard a familiar voice she immediately relaxed, the fierce grimace leaving her face and sighed in relief, "Ley! Don't you ever scare me like that again!" she put her arms akimbo and only a second later her hands flew to her mouth reflexively as the full meaning of her tone and words pierced her worried haze. Dear lord! She just lectured her own Queen! "Your Majesty! I'm terribly sorry! I don't know what came over me…!"
It was Lena's turn to pout, "Now, now Marry, don't do this to me! I had enough of dishonest care just some minutes ago. Please feel free to scold me as you usually do. Nothing changed except now I have a golden leash on my throat, figuratively speaking. Trust me, your honesty is nothing but balm on my battered soul at the moment."
The cook actually sniffed loudly as Aaron hugged her. "They said you were dying!" she accused no one in particular, "And after you saved us all from this explosion!"
"Oh, I'm far from dead… I'm sorry if the rumours made you worry for nothing. Come here and sit with us for a moment," Lena petted the seat next to her and cocked her head while flashing a reassuring grin. "I guess we missed your banquet today, though I'd have to inform you that in two days we'll probably to give it second chance…" the exotic woman winked and asked, "What's for dinner..?"
The man gazed at the balcony from which his target, or more like now one of three targets, stood and waved to the crowd below her. To think she'd be able to survive this… He certainly didn't expect her to use such a weird power, that was somehow similar to his people's and, at the same, different. Not to mention it was this strong, capable of disintegrating the falling debris in a blink of an eye. If she could use such ability, then his master was right to worry about her existence…
He perched his shoulder comfortably on the nearest wall and allowed the flaps of his dark mantle to cascade over the other shoulder. He only had to take off his cloak and turn it on the other side to confuse the Black Devils hot on his heels. Seriously, he shouldn't have given the money to the old fart. Duh… But he really liked the temple. That is, before he decided to blow it up…
As he folded the arms over his chest he considered his options. He had a mission to accomplish, but the more he looked at it, the more he got an impression that it'd be harder than he initially thought.
First, he had three people to eliminate now, naturally, just to be sure. Second, at least his main mark possessed strange powers, unfamiliar to him, which successfully prevented him from achieving his goal the first time. Third, obviously, they'd be more on guard after his fiasco.
So, where did it leave him?
Unfortunately, now he had to consider infiltrating the palace in hope to reach her before she'd recuperate. Even from afar her exhaustion was obvious, besides it's not like he had the time of entire world at his disposal. The question was what to do with the two men.
Later this afternoon he traced 'twins', though they were constantly surrounded by the Jeggers and other people helping with searching the rubble, probably, for some clues. The man chuckled, black strands of his long hair dancing in the wind around his veiled face. He actually wished them luck, while hoping the game would become more interesting from now on.
What truly worried and intrigued him in both parts was the presence of the mysterious Leone Tribe, the huge unknown, apparently, even among their neighbours. If not for their colouring, they bore certain similarities to his people, though he'd have to examine them closer, preferably without all that annoying veils to be sure. It was interesting to find people slightly similar to his own race despite obvious differences in shade of their complexion and hair, practically on the other side of the world.
Nobody warned him about the target's powers. Even taking into consideration her parents, the woman shouldn't have possessed anything useful for attack, have much less defences, and yet… If he didn't witness that with his own eyes, he'd probably have a hard time believing it himself. It wasn't like children among his race automatically inherited the same powers as their parents had once, but it was common enough that they would possess the same 'field' of mabeob ui him. Did it mean she wasn't his ultimate target then? That left the male twins, which argued everything he learnt through his investigation thus far…
The only thing helping him in this complicated situation was that all his marks were currently living in one place, namely the royal palace. At least he wouldn't have to trace them, since sooner or later the three of them would return to the castle.
The man shook his head in irritation as the woman disappeared inside after reassuring the worried crowd gathered at the gates. Because of this crowd and intensified guard he couldn't enter the complex. Well, he still had a night at his disposal, but nothing irritated him more than a useless lemming-like rush of commoners getting in his way.
With the last glance he pushed away from the wall and entered the nearest shadow, his stride buoyant and sure.
Sharris observed Lena worriedly the entire evening, and she finally rebelled. As much as during the audience with nobles the exotic woman still managed to fool her visitors, through the meeting with palatial servants it was still plausible, but now Ley clearly reached her limit. Oh sure, using the wolf as a decoy was a clever move, but that didn't change the fact that the female still had to walk back and forth on her own only helping herself with animal's support.
The petite blond tugged at Michael's sleeve as he was frowning at Ley's suspiciously slow gait. Clearly the man didn't like what she whispered to him. By word of mouth between four companions of the Child of the Prophecy the truth about Lena's condition reached Cid…
The moment the exotic woman unexpectedly swayed while returning from the balcony the Kabul knight unceremoniously picked weakly protesting Ley in his arms and growled at the Sevian to lead to the nearest hidden passage. To say he was royally pissed off that Lena once again was trying to hide something from them was an understatement of the century.
"…I said put me down, goddammit! I can walk on my own!" Ley slapped at his shoulder angrily, though it lacked its normal force.
"You call it walking?! Don't be ridiculous! And how the hell did you figure out that omitting your current condition would work, huh?"
"You little traitor…" Lena hissed at scowling Sharris over man's shoulder.
"Don't change the topic, Ley! I'm still angry at her that she kept it to herself this long," the knight quickly entered the hidden door right behind the silver-haired man to avoid unnecessary gawkers. "And if you hit my arm one more time, I'll simply toss you over my shoulder like some sack of potatoes as I should have in the very beginning. Be grateful I refrained from humiliating you and opted for normal carrying…"
Lena went speechless and then huffed at him, "I hate frigging 'princess-carry'!"
"You are a queen if you forgot already and besides you should be glad I didn't spank you here and now for this idiotic stunt!"
"You wouldn't dare!" she gaped.
"Oh, really? I think we already went through this conversation several times," unmoved Cid growled right back fed up with this charade. "And how the hell did you came up with the idea to use this 'four-legged' walking cane I'd never know… you should've said that you can barely walk!"
Ley sighed heavily and unconsciously laid her head on the knight's shoulder. "It worked just fine, I'll let you know…" her voice slurred slightly as she smothered a small yawn, "And don't yell at me, I'm your Queen, remember?"
Cid snorted derisively a little amused by her stubbornness, "And now you think it'll save you from a good dose of lecturing from me?"
Her eyes gradually lowered and she mumbled already half-asleep, "Noisy bastard… I'll kick your infuriating butt for this, you hear me?"
"Oh~ now I'm all shivering..!" the Kabul knight entered her alcove nodding briefly to Michael who held the door for him and mocked, "Off to bed with you! And only when you walk in front of me the entire corridor without any help, we will talk about retribution. Is that clear..?"
His only answer was a slight snore…
