Author's Note:
Disclaimer in previous chapters.
Just a heads up, the chapters ahead are going to have violence and possible some sexual content.
Once back in the mansion, Troy took his usual seat, but found that Dar wasn't entering the room. He felt a little better knowing that half dragon thing was not going to be next to him. Onyx, however, had settled at her place at one end of the table. Her cool, sweeping gaze took in everyone with perfect ease as she silently piled food onto her plate. Still dressed in her armor, her helmet resting on the table beside her plate, the Yami remained an intimidating presence. Especially considering how sharp the knife was that she used to cut her ham. While she had gone directly to the dining hall, several of the others had gone to their rooms to change out of their armor and sweaty clothes.
Sarah, who had gone to change, came into the room a few moments later, her clothing already changed. Now instead of her armor, she wore black leather pants, high boots and a green tunic. She did not sit, but seized a few slices of bread, and, using them as plates, took eggs and ham before bolting back out the door with no more than a nod to her Yami. Celtos, who had not bothered to change, was having an animated discussion with Onyx at their end of the table.
"..have at least a dozen houses to rebuild, I'm afraid, Rojaron was very enthusiastic this time. Five more need repairs, and the bridge over the north stream was damaged. Just the handrails on the side, but we'd best repair those as well."
"I see. Lumber supplies?" Pouring herself another cup of tea, the Yami glanced up as Damus entered, nodding slightly to him as he took his seat.
"Lumber supplies are fine, Mistress, but our nails are running low and we need more thatching."
"Fine. Damus, take Cayenne, Mirai... err, perhaps not Mirai, but take your pick of the other mages – and start work with duplicating what supplies we have of nails and thatch."
"Aye, Mistress."
"Celtos, make sure the supplies are readied. Use the dragons to bring in trees for lumber, and once the mages are done with the duplicating, have them start shipping lumber in from the supply buildings. Let the warriors and the horse teams move it from the square to the house sites. Have the rest begin from there with assembly."
"As you command." The Elf continued to demolish the pile of food on his plate, and Troy quietly glanced at the bounty on the table. Eggs, fried and scrambled, great platters of ham and sausages, thick slices of fresh bread, great pats of yellow butter, pots of sweet jam, bowls of oats bran, pitchers of milk and wine, pots of sugar both bran and white, and a jug of molasses, which Damus was now spooning over his hot oat meal and milk. Feeling hungry despite his nerves, Troy quickly reached for the closest platter of eggs.
Troy kept glancing across the table at Kate as they ate their breakfast. He had been pretty amazed by her abilities and how well matched they were for Neo but what he couldn't get out of his mind was the thought of this young woman being intimate with this...this monster. Though he wasn't entirely sure if that was really what was going on, he had a pretty good idea. The way they glanced at each other, the way he spoke to her, the way he touched her. It all made his blood boil and he hadn't even been there a full day yet.
Concentrate on the mission, not on your hormones. He thought as he ate.
"Troy!" Onyx's sharp bark nearly made him choke on his fork. When he was able to breathe once again, he looked up at the dark woman.
"Yes, Onyx?"
"You'll be working under Celtos."
"Mistress, flattered though I am, he's really not my type."
Several other people around the table burst out laughing at that comment, and Damus accidentally spat out some of his toast. Onyx sighed heavily and rolled her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose as though to ward off a headache.
"As I was saying..." the Yami cut in, and the laughter quieted to a few suppressed chuckles, "you will be working under the command of Celtos. It will be heavy labor, largely moving timbers and helping to set the frames for the houses." A pause, and the woman smirked. "Are you able?"
Everyone around the table casually went back to eating as Troy sputtered indignantly. Truly, this woman could insult anyone!
"Yes ma'am." He said before going back to his breakfast.
Even though Kate hadn't liked the way Onyx had spoken to the man, she couldn't help but let the smile creep across her face. When they finished, everyone rose from their seats. Onyx vanished briefly, but reappeared less than a minute later, her armor swapped for a pair of black leather breaches, high black boots, a long-sleeved black shirt, and a black leather vest. Her hair was braided and pinned around her head like a crown. Troy's eyes were almost immediately drawn to the only spark of color in her outfit – an oval emerald in a gold setting, hanging over her breasts on a fine gold chain.
"Well," the Yami snapped, her eyes sparking with mirth, "what are you all standing around for? Get moving!"
Damus laughed at that, pressed a fast kiss to the Yami's mouth, and grinned at her before bolting for the staircase. "Race you."
Onyx rolled her eyes and popped out. The others followed Damus' course down the staircase, though at an admittedly slower pace. By the time they reached the Village center, all the monsters had already assembled to one end of the green. At the other end milled a heard of horses, probably a hundred in total. Sarah could be seen, sitting on her black stallion at the head of the heard. The same grey-skinned man that had lead Onyx and Sarah's horses too them was waiting next to her, sitting bareback on a dark purple horse with a bright gold mane and tail. Troy blinked twice, but the horse's colors didn't change. Shaking his head slightly, he wondered why he wasn't used to seeing things like this by now.
A screeching roar suddenly sounded overhead. Troy glanced up, then gave a startled cry, ducking instinctively. Although the monsters around him seemed quite unaffected, they were probably used to seeing a pair of silvery-white dragons gliding overhead. Troy, on the other hand, was still becoming accustomed to the fact that dragons even existed. Now, two dragons, both silver-scaled and blue-eyed, were touching down near the end of the Village. There was a figure sitting comfortably behind the head of each. Looking closer, Troy realized that Daragon was seated on the smaller of the two dragons – 'smaller' being a fairly relative term, as the dragon was still over forty feet tall – while a male in heavy armor sat on the neck of the other. In the sunlight, the armor looked to be made of bone, hard and pale. The two dragons obediently lowered their long necks to the ground, allowing the two monsters to dismount. Daragon stroked the nose of his dragon, briefly, as Onyx walked forward.
"We need trees," she announced to him without preamble.
"Good morning, Mistress. How many?"
"Good morning yourself, and about ten, if they're a good size." With no more than that, she turned and walked to the middle of the square, snapping off orders as she went. Under her direction, the monsters split easily into groups before vanishing in different directions. Daragon and the other man remounted the dragons, and took wing again. After a few moments, only Veronique, Katie, Sarah, Onyx and Troy were still standing in the green, next to the milling heard of horses. Several of the animals wore heavy leather harnesses, collars and breast plates, with long traces folded up and tied over their backs. They would be used for some sort of pulling work.
Within a few minutes, voices – one high and girlish, the other deep and harsh – could be heard. Around the corner of a nearby house came a floating pile of wooden planks, followed by Mirai, the blond she-mage, who was levitating the pile with her staff. Behind her came another pile of boards, controlled by the blue-skinned mage she had turned into a duck earlier that day. Clearly, he had not forgiven her for the incident, as he shouted at her every time her wood pile wobbled.
"Cayenne, behave! Or I'll turn you into a duck permanently!" Sarah, her tone scolding, glared at the mage as both piles of wood were taken by. She received a growl in response, which was dutifully ignored. The two stacks of lumber were set down next to the scorched ground that had once held the houses. The debris had been raked away earlier that day, leaving the ground smooth and ready for rebuilding.
Within a few minutes, a troop of monsters had reappeared, all heavily muscled and powerful. Warrior monsters, Troy recalled from Onyx's briefing that morning. Physically they were dangerous, that much was obvious, and most of them could wield weapons of some sort. However, those were only dangerous at close range. They could be dealt with easily enough by archers and spear throwers. Filing that away in his mind, he quietly joined the group when Celtos beckoned. A second later, a dozen or so horses came trotting around the corner, Sarah at their head. Despite his feelings, Troy found himself admiring the organization and skill of the Villagers. Holes were dug for the beams, which the horses helped to pull erect. Planks were positioned and nails driven in with solid hammer blows. The work, however easy on a powerful monster with plenty of experience, was difficult on Troy. By the end of half an hour, his shoulders and back were already protesting their exertion. Onyx, working beside her monsters, glanced at him.
"Back to work, outsider. You're not here for free!" The voice of the monster cut in from his other side, and Troy turned his fiercest glare on the man beside him. Heavily muscled, the man shook his grey beard and bared his prominent teeth at Troy.
"Manners, Kojikocy." Onyx's deadly-soft voice came from Troy's other side. "Troy is here as our guest." The monster, looking fearful, bowed deeply an immediately found work to do on the other side of the cabin. Troy glanced back at the dark-haired woman.
"Do you always have that effect on people?"
"Kojikocy isn't a person. He's one of my light's monsters, and therefore I have his complete subservience, as my light is submissive to me." A pause before she spoke again. "But frequently, yes, I do. Now, get back to work!"
"But my muscles - "
"You don't have to like it; you just have to endure it. Now, MOVE!" Her shout revealed her white teeth, and Troy saw, with a jolt of something like fear, that her canine teeth were longer and sharper than any human's teeth, almost like fangs.
This, and her shout, startled him more than the dragons had, and Troy leapt backwards. His foot caught a loose stone, sending him stumbling backwards into a board that one of the monsters was carrying over. Rubbing his sore head, the soldier staggered over to where Celtos was nailing a board into place.
"How do you do this day after day? I've only been doing this for half an hour, and already I feel ready to collapse." Hoping for a dismissal, he sent the Elf his most pleading look, knowing that the creature was a softer heart than most of the others.
"If you're looking for sympathy, you're in the wrong place. Staying here means earning your keep. Now, hold this board still so I can drive the nails straight."
Resigning himself to this unpleasant fate, Troy settled his hands against the rough wood and went back to his thoughts.
They work hard, which means they are building strength. Archers, we'll need archers to take them. Any man taking them up close is as good as dead.
Being lost in his thoughts, Troy didn't notice Celtos move until the Elf yelled.
"Wake up!"
Troy jumped and came back to reality, looking over to see that Celtos had moved to the next section of wall. Quickly he stepped over and helped him with the next board, while looking around. He noticed off to the left that the other dark haired Yami, Veronique, was working. She was helping to fasten boards on the frame of another house while commanding a few of the other monsters around it. Troy assumed most of these were her monsters. He was watching Veronique so intently that he didn't see Celtos swinging the hammer. Celtos was forced to swing the hammer at an awkward angle to avoid Troy's hand, which was forming a loose half-circle around the nail.
The hammer hit the nail at an angle, striking it before slipping off and slamming right into Troy's hand, forcing it down and across the edge of the sharp, rough wood. The hard, unsanded edge ripped deep into his palm, embedding splinters and drawing blood. Troy yelped and jumped back, holding his bloody hand and cursing. None of the monsters except Celtos paid the injured man any mind, they all just kept working. The Elf stared at him with his face expressionless, neither upset nor amused.
Troy looked at him and growled softly in his throat before snapping, "Well, what are you going to do about this?"
Celtos laughed. "What am I going to do? I'm not going to do anything."
Troy continued to hold his hand as the blood began to run through his fingers and the pain intensified.
Shaking his head and giving an exasperated sigh, Celtos finally called out, "Dian."
In a snap the short healer appeared and began work repairing Troy's hand as the man stared in wonder.
How does he do that? Troy wondered, looking at the healer.
Within minutes Troy's hand was healed, all the splinters lying on the ground at his feet. They had somehow been expelled from his hand during the healing process. The hand was still covered in dried blood, but it was healed. Celtos looked at him for a moment before speaking.
"Go and wash your hands. The last thing we need is your blood on the new buildings. Between the two stone pillars and take a right at the oak tree."
Troy went to where Celtos told him, grumbling the whole way about taking orders from an inferior monster. Following the Elf's directions, he found himself at a stone well in the center of the square. A couple of large metal basins were settled on the ground around it. A few were occupied by monsters wetting their heads to cool down. Kneeling down next to an unoccupied basin, Troy plunged his hands into the cool water and began scrubbing.
As he washed his hands, he caught sight of Katie. She had changed into a different pair of black breeches, almost knee high black boots, a light green tunic and her hair was pulled back and twisted onto the back of her head where it was pinned up. He had to stop for a second as he admired her from the distance but grumbled when he saw she was working beside Neo, though this didn't look like the same man he had seen each time at the table.
He was slightly shorter and he wore a green stone around his neck rather than a topaz one. Not to mention his outfit was completely the opposite of the one Troy had seen him wearing when he left the house. Than, from Kate's right came...Troy couldn't believe his eyes. Neo! The man he had seen this morning. He shook his head thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him as Neo walked up to Kate, kissed her cheek and walked off again. He blinked again, could there possible be two of them?
"TROY!" He heard someone yell, making him jump slightly and splash water in his lap.
He turned to see Celtos glaring at him and quickly returned to the elf to finish helping him with the boards. Throughout the day they worked and worked, rebuilding the destroyed houses and repairing the damaged ones. Ever now and than Troy would get a five or ten minute break, but it always seemed to be opposite of Kate.
He had finally figured out that she was the most naive of the four women, so it would be the best to stick with her in order to get information. After a while Troy figured that the only thing he'd be able to do tonight was sleep. His muscles ached too badly for anything else. He worked with everyone until four thirty when they had finished putting the last bit of thatch on the last roof and the last pane of glass in the last window. Troy was to the point of complete exhaustion until he saw Kate. He was about to walk up to her when Neo got there first, wrapping his arm around her waist. He growled slightly as he watched them walk towards the mansion together. Following after he reminded himself that the mission came first, not his hormones or need for a woman.
Onyx was a short distance away, as she always seemed to be, sitting cross-legged on a stone wall and talking with five others: Sarah, Celtos, Damus, Veronique, and her Elf, Gartic. Yet even as Troy watched, another Elf, completely identical to Gartic – even wearing the same clothing and the same pendant – walked up and joined the others. They spoke only for a moment after that, and Onyx silently rose before dismissing them.
Leaping on top of the stone wall, the Yami raised her voice to reach all the monsters in the Village. "Clean up! Dinner will be served at six-thirty!" Onyx called to all of the monsters before heading towards the house herself.
She stayed behind Troy, watching him the whole time. Veronique and the others, following behind Onyx, also kept their gazes on him. Troy could feel the eyes on his back and tried not to shiver. He walked into the mansion and went up the stairs to the corridor. He was just about to step through the door when he heard giggling. He stopped and peaked around the corner. What he saw made his blood pressure rise again.
Neo had Kate pinned against the wall with the weight of his body, and his lips were locked with the girl's. He had his fingers intertwined with hers as he held her arms against the wall. His lips trailed down, over her neck, hitting spots that made her giggle. He watched from around the corner as Kate finally moved her head.
"My room," she moaned.
Instantly Neo grabbed her, picking her up off her feet and taking her into the room. After all that work, that bastard still had the strength to carry her and do whatever was going to happen behind those doors? Troy continued to stare even as the door closed. He couldn't make himself move until he felt a cold chill.
"Is there a problem?"
Troy jumped and fell backwards into the corridor, turning to see Onyx standing over him. Any trace of humor that had been in her eyes had vanished, leaving her as cold and dangerous as before.
"N-no." He said.
Onyx's eyes flashed. She knew what he had seen and could tell what he was feeling.
"They are very much in love," she said, her voice low and cold.
Troy just stared at her.
"He would do anything for her." She walked past him, but a few feet away she paused for a moment and turned back. "And I mean, anything ." With that, she walked to the end of the corridor and to her own room, closing the door behind her.
Troy was startled and confused. He got up and raced to his room, leaning back against the door after he closed it.
How the hell did she know? She can't read minds can she? SHIT! If she can read minds....no she can't, or she would have killed me already.
After convincing himself that she couldn't possibly know, Troy fell down on his bed and drifted off to sleep out of pure exhaustion.
At six fifteen Kate walked out of her room, her hair wet and wearing a new set of clothes. She walked into the corridor and met Veronique, who was chuckling slightly.
"Have fun?" Veronique asked with amusement in her voice.
Kate looked at her and smiled. "With Neo, always."
Neo came out of the bedroom with his hair also wet, clinging damply to the sides of his face. "Did I hear my name?"
Kate just smiled. "Yes, but don't worry, it wasn't anything bad."
"If it was, we would have waited for you to be here before saying it." Veronique said before laughing and taking off down the stairs for the dining hall.
Neo just rolled his eyes at the Yami before wrapping his arm around the young woman next to him.
"Let's go eat."
Once down in the dining hall, everyone became seated. Onyx looked over at Troy's empty chair than looked at the blonde girl sitting next to Neo. Her expression turned quickly from bemused to annoyed when she realized that the girl seemed completely unaware of the soldier's absence.
"Kai-chan, where is Troy?"
Kate's attention turned from Neo to Onyx. "He's not..." She looked at his empty chair. "Here."
Onyx gave an exasperated sigh. "Need I remind you that he is your responsibility? Go find him!"
Kate groaned before getting up and leaving the room. She went up the stairs and to Troy's door. She knocked lightly and waited for an answer.
Inside, Troy was asleep on the bed, his exhaustion bringing on dreams. He dreamt that the blonde girl had entered his room. She walked seductively across the floor to the bed, closing the distance between them. He was laying on the bed with his legs hanging over the edge. She crawled up on the bed and straddled him before running her hands down his shoulders and across his chest. It felt so real. He grinned at her before grabbing her arms and pulling her down for a kiss.
"Troy, Troy!" He heard her call out after he kissed her.
"Troy!"
He instantly woke up, opening his eyes he saw that Kate was in fact there with him and he had a death grip on her wrists. She wasn't happy, she was glaring at him.
"Troy! Let me go!" She yelled.
He let go of her wrists and instantly sat up. She wiped her mouth on her tunic sleeve. Troy looked startled. Had he just acted out his dream? Had she touched him in that way? Kate just glared at him.
"Dinner is ready." Quickly she left the room.
Troy rubbed the back of his neck before smirking. That had actually felt really good. Maybe when he took her and the pendants away from here, he could get more of that. He shook the thought form his head before heading downstairs. When Kate made it back to the dining hall she tried to look like nothing had happen. She took her seat and looked down at her plate. Neo glanced over at her after taking a bite of his food. Without moving his lips he spoke to her, mentally through the pendant.
Kojika, what's wrong?
Kate started eating, ignoring the question for a moment.
Kojika?
Veronique looked over at the girl with a raised eyebrow. "Kate, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." Kate said quickly.
Veronique didn't believe her, but she didn't pry either. She just looked at Onyx, who returned the look right before Troy walked into the room. When Katie tensed in her seat, Onyx frowned deeply. Reaching out with her mind, the Yami inquisitively brushed the surface of Troy's thoughts, as she had done many times since his arrival.
The soldier's thoughts were centered on Katie. Her frown deepening, Onyx glanced to her light, Celtos, and Damus in turn.
We have a problem, she informed them, using the pendants to transmit her thoughts to the other three.
What, another one? Sarah smirked around her spoon.
Yes. My quarters, after dinner, all of you.
As you command, came three identical replies. With a grim nod, Onyx spared one last glance at Troy before she returned to her meal.
After eating Troy went back upstairs to his room. He left the door cracked open ever so slightly as he sat down on the edge of the bed. He couldn't help but think about kissing her. Quickly he thought more about the mission until he heard something strange coming from the corridor. He went over and peeked through the crack of the door. Kate and Neo had just entered the corridor. Neither of them had looked very happy and they were speaking...some strange language. Troy listened carefully but couldn't figure out what the two were saying.
Kate stopped in the middle of the corridor and faced Neo, throwing her arms in the air and shaking her hands as she spoke. Neo responded in the same language and kept holding his hands out to her. Now Troy was confused again. Kate had shown no signs of knowing another language earlier and now she spoke this as if she were born speaking it. What Troy didn't know was that the two were speaking in Elvish.
Although few monsters aside from those of Elf blood knew it, Damus was a master of languages and had taught it to them. Troy was their subject of conversation, as well as what had happened. Finally Kate gave a slight growl before walking into her room. Neo stood there for a second and looked over at Troy's door, catching the sight of it being open. He glared at the young man before walking over to the door and pushing it slightly open. Backlit by the torches of the corridor, he made an impressive silhouette. His eyes, now cold and furious, locked with Troy's.
"Touch her and I'm sure Ony-sama won't stop me from killing you." Neo growled as he stared Troy in the eye.
Troy just glared right back. "I give the girl what she wants."
Neo growled and was about to grab Troy when he heard his name called. "You're lucky, stranger."
Neo turned on his heels and headed back to the girl's room, closing the door behind him.
"Onyx, are you going to tell us what all of this is about?" Sarah demanded as she walked in to her darker half's room a few minutes later.
"In a moment. Sit, please." Motioning for Celtos to come in as well, the Yami settled herself next to Damus on the tan leather sofa. Celtos sat, frowning, in the loveseat, and Sarah, who still looked puzzled, sat quietly in his lap. The Elf automatically wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to his broad chest. Onyx, ignoring them for the moment, waved her hand to conjure a tea tray. Pouring four cups from the golden pot, she added sugar to three of them, passing Celtos the unsweetened one and distributing the other three. While they waited for their tea to cool, Damus posed the question again.
"Mistress, are you going to address why we are here?"
Onyx shook her head slightly. "This is an open counsel. For now, we are all equals, and that means names only." Taking her first mouthful of tea, she swallowed slowly before speaking. "I think we all know, at least basically, why we are here. Troy."
"Shouldn't Veronique-san be here for this?" Celtos queried.
Onyx shook her head slightly. "Veronique is still concerned over Katie's behavior from dinner. She is observant, more so than most give her credit for. She knows that something is wrong. I prefer to keep this between ourselves for the moment. Once we have reached a conclusion, we will inform Veronique."
Celtos nodded slightly. As Onyx was the senior most of the commanders in the village, she often took the most important decisions upon herself, passing them down the ladder of command to Veronique, Sarah, and Katie. Having known her light and the two monsters for longer than anyone else in the Village, they were the ones that she turned to first for a counsel.
"Since we all know you have read his mind," Sarah broke in, "I'll start by asking you what you found."
"Surprisingly little," came the quiet answer. "When last I checked, the King was not in the habit of training his soldiers in the art of mental defense. However, all my attempts to infiltrate Troy's mind, to the degree that it would be unnoticeable, have failed. He has a surprisingly strong defense around his mind. I could only skim his surface thoughts, those continually present and unguarded." She paused for a moment, and the other three watched her expectantly. When Onyx returned to her tea, Sarah sent a mental 'poke' through the pendant, making the Yami inhale a fair quantity of the hot liquid, sending her into a coughing fit.
"Well?" Sarah demanded again once the coughs had subsided. "What did you find?"
"For the past days," Onyx answered, her voice hoarse from the coughing, "the word at the forefront of his mind has been 'mission.' He's not here by accident."
After the others had a few moments to worry over that revelation, she spoke up again. "However, when I read his thoughts at dinner tonight, they were focused solely on Katie."
"Wonderful," came a sharp, sarcastic mutter from Sarah. "Now we have an enemy soldier lusting after one of our village commanders, who is already deeply involved with one of our monsters."
"You mentioned the King's training. What do you know of him?" Celtos, resting his chin on Sarah's shoulder, peered intently at the dark woman across from him, trying to distract from the disturbing notion of a dangerous love triangle.
"I did not always live in Sacelon, Celtos. Once, I was a warrior for the outside world." She frowned for a moment before adding, "I doubt the King has forgotten the symbols of my and Veronique's houses."
The others looked confused by that, but the expression on Onyx's face made it clear that the matter was closed. At least, for the moment.
"So, if Troy is here on a mission..." Damus' distracted murmur turned the gazes of the others toward him. "That means he can never leave Sacelon."