Where is he? Seles thought as she made her way from the powder room back to the ballroom. Regal had been gone for quite a while now, and Seles had kept herself occupied by speaking to various dignitaries and members of the nobility. Princess Hilda was preoccupied by preparations for the midnight celebration, and Seles was left bereft of possible informants to interview. In short, she was growing tired and bored. In the past, before her exile to the Abbey, Seles and Zelos would attend these gatherings together as children. Her brother had been eager to cause all sorts of mischief, and Seles had happily joined him. Now, she was all alone, in a sea of greedy backstabbers and gold diggers, eager to earn the King's favor any chance they had.
The young woman looked up to the clock to see what time it was. Five minutes to midnight. Here she was, at a glamourous new year's party, with the most handsome date she could possibly ever get, and yet he was no where to be seen. She frowned. It's not as if you're going to kiss at midnight. A girl could dream. Seles berated herself: she knew she had more important things to worry about than a New Year's Eve kiss. Like her brother's predicament. Or Colette's trap. Goddess, she hoped they would both be alright. It was probably just seven o'clock in Arkylia, just a half an hour after sundown. Too soon for any news from either party. She'd have to wait until the next morning to get word.
Sighing, the red-haired woman made her way over to the balcony and took a glass of champagne offered to her by a passing servant. As she sipped it, her eyes roamed over the city lights below her. Despite her abhorrence of court life, Meltokio was truly beautiful at night.
"A sight to behold, that is for sure." Seles turned to see Regal approaching her, a glass of champagne in his hand.
Her eyes searched his face for anything to betray what had happened in his meeting with the King. "Yes. I was just thinking the same."
He came closer to her, so that his body was just an inch from hers. Seles felt a blush creep into her cheeks and she turned back towards the view. "We need to go." Regal whispered calmly.
"What? Why?"
"We need to go to Sybak."
"What's in Sybak?"
"Our evidence. It seems you were right, High Priestess."
She whipped around. "You can't be serious."
"I am quite serious." He said, his face grim in the dim lights. He sighed and said, "We must procure evidence about the King's scheme if we are to bring him to justice."
Seles sucked in her lips and exhaled, her heart racing. "Well, midnight is fast approaching. We can make our escape soon after."
"My thoughts exactly." He gestured to the ballroom. "Shall we go inside and continue acting?"
She downed her champagne and gave him a fake smile. "Absolutely. I was hoping to hear more about Lady Karina's hernia."
Regal chuckled and led her inside, placing his hand on the small of her back. The contact made her glow, and she picked up another glass of champagne off a tray. Between the news Regal had obtained, and the close contact to her crush, Seles was as stressed as Celsius on a hot day. If she was going to play the part of a happy guest, she needed some help to get into character. As they joined the throng of guests, Seles and Regal found themselves a spot on the left wall. The noise of the crowd was growing louder; anticipation for the new year was growing.
The nobleman leaned down and whispered into her ear, "We can take the exit through the East Wing
"10! 9! 8! 7!" The countdown began and people in the crowd shouted out as the the new year drew nearer. Seles swept her eyes across the ballroom, and briefly caught the King eyeing the two of them. "6! 5! 4!" Her eyes did not land on the King, but she knew he was watching them. She realized they had to be convincing when they left, otherwise, the King would suspect. A plan formed in her head, but there was no time to warn Regal. "3! 2! 1! 0!" Cheers rang out. Friends clinked glasses. Couples kissed.
And the High Priestess followed suit. Seles wrapped her arms around Regal's neck and kissed him square on the mouth. She could tell he was surprised, but he seemed to understand after a few moments and wrapped his arms around her waist. The kiss went on for a minute more. When they separated, Seles pinked and whispered, "The King was watching."
"Ah. I see." He caressed her cheek. There was a strange look on his face. What was he thinking?
Out of the corner of her eye, Seles could see a few of the nobles wide-eyed, watching their public display of affection. That should give them something to talk about. She smirked inwardly at their shocked faces. To Regal, she asked, "Shall we go?"
"Yes." Regal held out his hand and she placed hers in it. "Let's go." He lead them through the crowd and towards the exit. Seles could see the King give Regal a knowing smile on their way out. Perhaps they were safe.
An hour and a half later, they were in Sybak. As they passed through the streets, walking by university students laughing and cheering the new year, Seles wondered if any of them knew what was happening in their city. If they knew what was being created in the underbelly of this research town. Upon reaching the research facility, Regal and Seles quickly ran down the deserted corridors, towards the basement floor. "It should be in here." Regal murmured as he pressed his key card to Lab IV.
"Where did you get that?"
"The Minister of Defense. It's a temporary one. He was to show me the lab tomorrow afternoon." The door slid open and they stepped into a stark white room. There were lab tables lined up against the walls, all sots of equipment strewn over them. But Regal ignored all of that. Instead, he headed over to a closet. Confused, Seles followed. He pushed back the lab coats to reveal another door with a key card slot. Regal once again flashed the card and the door slid open.
They headed down the long corridor, made a right, and then another left. At the end of the hallway was a doorway, locked with a numbered key pad. "Did he give you the code?"
"No." Regal shook his head. He stared at the keypad for a moment, Seles watching uneasily. She knew they needed to get in the door. Regal had compromised himself by coming here already. There would be a record of the use of the key card. And she was sure that Regal's official first visit was to be tomorrow.
"Did the King say anything to do with numbers when you were speaking to him?"
"Not to my recollection." Regal said, his hands curling into fists. It could be any combination of numbers. Any amount of numbers. Absolutely anything.
"Maybe it's someone's birthday. Or maybe it's a year." Seles said, brainstorming, though, she felt the effort was hopeless. Regal stood there, silently, arms crossed. Then he reached out and typed 1, 7, 8, and 4. A few buzzes and a green light appeared, indicating the door was open. "How did you know that?!" Seles exclaimed.
"A…friend of mine gave me the code. She never got a chance to tell me what it was for though."
"Do you know what it means?"
"I believe…I believe that it is the year that Tethe'alla first declared war on Sylvarant. The year the Kharlan war began."
"Why would the code be that?"
"Because…the King believes he will realize the dream of his ancestors: supremacy over all Aselia. Perhaps it is homage to them."
"That's disturbing."
He nodded in agreement and gestured for her to go in. She walked into the large room that was empty of any scientists. They were lucky that everyone was out celebrating the new year. But as they walked down the middle of the room, her eyes gazed at the contents of each lab table. There were all sorts of hand tools, microscopes, petri dishes and the like. On one table to their left, there was a glass case filled with exspheres next to a jar of what looked like sand.
"This is it." Regal said, examining the contents of the jar.
But Seles barely registered what he had said. She was already at the end of the hall, staring at a glass water tank, horrified. "Oh my goddess…" Inside was a being. It looked humanoid from what Seles could gather. The blue water gave the being a murky glow as she tried to examine it. It's skin had been pulled tight, so tight she could see the outlines of muscle and bone. The arms were twisted around its body, as if it were hiding from the blaring fluorescent lights of the lab, obscuring her view of its face. When she peered closer to it, it whipped its head around. She shrieked and took a step back. But it remained immobile, just calmly observing her. It's eyes were a milky white; it's lips as red as blood. It didn't seem to register Seles' presence, but she could tell from the way its nostrils flared, it was alive. Is this what happened to those who did not survive the experiments?
"Miss Wilder…" Regal said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"This is terrible." She whispered and turned around to face him.
"And that is why we must put a stop to it." He placed a stack of files in her hands. "We've got what we came for."
