Happy Holidays, guys! Enjoy the newest chapter of this thrilling saga of totally not-a-rip-off of my other stories.
Cursed Mark
Grim murmur roamed the streets of Olympia, conjuring a thick coat of tension into the air. It was the type of fuel-like tension that would erupt into a raging riot by the smallest flare of aggression. The sky was dark with grey rain clouds, lumbering slowly across the dim city. It was still early in the afternoon that streetlights weren't lit, pulling the city into damp, mutely festering place.
Moans of creaky wood against the stone road chattered through the street. Somehow the inclusion of the carriage noise only deepened the tense silence.
The carriage jarred to a stop at end of the Main Street. Usually, the Main Street was almost completely useless. It was simply established so the nobles could diddle-daddle about, flaunting their worth with a glamorized street to do the exact same. However, today was a special occasion, sort of.
The carriage opened, 2 of the 6 guards escorting the cart pulled out a girl with long blond hair. Her hands were tied behind her back, blindfolded, and chained at the ankles.
That was the spark.
The crowd lighted into chatters. A sea of angry shouts and bitter hisses. There was a rhythm in the chaotic mass of gestures and fist throws. Some brought fruits or trash for throwing, how cliché.
"I wasn't aware that you were interested in this kind of entertainment." A sharp voice teased beside Thalia.
Thalia gave a half glance without turning.
"Is that what you people are calling it now?" Thalia wrinkled her nose. "It's too boring to be called entertainment. It always ends the same way."
The two boys gave light chuckles simultaneously, like mirrors.
Thalia turned her back to the edge of the roof, leaning back and resting her elbows on the railing. She gave a small grin.
"What's new, Stolls?"
"Have you heard I the knight's office massacre?" Travis chirped excitedly.
Thalia rolled her eyes.
"What about how the prince of Avalon was kidnapped two days ago?" Connor added in.
"Go to hell." Thalia laughed. "Anything new? Come on boys, you're better than that."
"Ouch." Travis pressed his hand to his chest.
"We heard a little of something here and there." Connor answered.
Thalia raised an eyebrow expectantly.
Connor continued, "Apparently Lord Zeus assigned 23 generals and 31 colonels into search for said lost Prince." Thalia raised one eyebrow.
"Holy crap." She breathed. "I thought it was only assigned to, like, 2 commandant?"
"Nope." Travis shook his index finger. "That's what he said! He specially and secretly assigned the mission to 54 officials, individually." He gave an expecting look. "Apparently, the mission was strictly assigned to each one of them. They all think they're the only one on the mission."
Thalia's brows furled together. "Why would he do that? Why so many? Why so secretly?" She brought her thumb to her lips, nibbling on her fingernail. "What's so secretly important about this assignment?"
"He is the Prince of Avalon, kidnapped in the very heart of the once rival of Avalon." Connor shrugged. "There's a lot on line, especially the frail and thinning treaty. War is a great promoter."
"I understand that," Thalia straightened from the railing. "But get this, how many Avalonian officials are on search for the Prince?" She looked from Connor and Travis. "Ten. Only 7 of which are stationed in Valhalla. Compared that to 54 officials, its kinda overwhelming."
"Understandable." Travis scratched his chin.
"I'm just worried about what would happen if Goths advanced their attacks." Connor said nonchalantly. "With 23 less generals, the kingdom is more than a little crippled."
"They aren't searching full time!" Travis snapped. "It's just their main priority. They simply got new stations that would better help find the Prince."
"Yeah, new stations that won't support the defense or offensive against the Goths!" Connor bit back. "They are placed in absurd places for the search effort, completely useless, if you ask me."
"Nobody asked you!" Travis shouted.
"Boys, boys." Thalia pressed her hands on both of their shoulders, a jolt of electricity coursed through their body. The Stolls yelped, jumping back, both boring glares. "Oh, come on. It wasn't that hard!" She snorted.
"I guess you don't want anymore news then." Travis shrugged.
"Geez, can we please...!" Thalia begged. To which the Stolls crossed their arms and turned away tauntingly ignoring her. "Pretty please! I'll make it up to you guys, I promise!"
Connor opened one eye. "Like, a second house party at the palace?"
"I doubt Zeus would want another one of those." Thalia chuckled.
"It wasn't too bad!" Travis uncrossed his arms and pressed them on his hip.
"You two painted on Zeus' self portrait!" Thalia exclaimed. "I had to take the blame for that, less Zeus publicly executed both of you!"
Connor pressed his index finger to his lips and hissed. "Shhh!" Travis waved his hands out to stop Thalia from continuing, a grin plastered on his face.
"Don't say that too loud!" Connor whisper-shouted. "We've heard that Lord Zeus is still on the hunt for those damaged paintings! You didn't lie convincingly enough about that."
"Well, I'm not dumb enough to vandalize the King's personal artworks!" Thalia pressed her hand to her face, rubbing her eyes in irritation while the Stolls repeated their previous gestures of fear.
"Lord Zeus has plenty more paintings anyways." Travis sighed. "Why's he so tight about this one painting?"
"Can we get back to the subject?" Thalia ushered them back on track.
"Well," Connor said with a grin. "There was this one little thing that's most intriguing..."
"Malady!" A messenger burst from the door of the rooftop, panting hard. He slid to a stop, falling to one knee. "Malady, His Majesty has requested an audience!"
Thalia turned away from the runner, her eyes glancing through the rhythmic gestures and fist throws of the masses.
The guards and girl had made it to the base of a set of stairs leading to a platform in the front center of Main Street. The guards undid her handcuffs and ankle chains, leaving her blindfold for last.
The guards yanked her onto the stairs, step by step. She resisted, forcing the guards to drag her up.
The crowd's roars subtly increased in anticipation.
On top of the platform, the blond girl stared upon the high pillar before her. 2 white stone slabs met at the center, forging a cross at the center of the platform.
"Alright, I'll be there in a sec." Thalia spoke absentmindedly, almost to herself. It was a wave from Travis that released the runner.
The masses below roared with a restraint, cold, sinister anger. The flow of voices set Thalia at unease, in fact, the whole ceremony did.
With a push, Thalia straightened herself from the railing, giving a little sigh as she did.
"I suppose this isn't going to be good." Thalia murmured. If one were not familiar with the princess, they would have thought there was a small ring of fear in her voice. If one were a great friend with the princess, they would have been certain that there was.
"Before you go," Connor held up a hand. "That last piece of information."
Thalia smiled.
"So, I've heard from a friend of a friend of someone in the top brass of the RIA that 2 nights ago, there was some kinda..." Connor waved a circle with both hands. "Singularity formed from a particularly uncommon Dosk."
"That's some connection you have." Thalia joked humorlessly. "Friend of a friend" was the code word the Stolls used when referring to their network of Hermes' kinsmen that participated in high risk, top secret spying. "So, what you're saying is that Dosk was used on the night of the Prince's disappearance?"
"Or the slaughter of the Information Department." Travis pointed out. "I'm also surprised that the RIA managed to function with their secret base ruffled like that."
"The RIA doesn't need the Civilian Information Department to function." Connor snapped.
"But it's their cover! How can they function when it's clear the enemy figured out the location of the RIA?"
"The RIA cooperates with the Information Department, they don't share a house! How does RIA's spying and networking enemy actions relate to distributing Knights and jailing of the Information Department?"
"It's obvious that the RIA controls—"
"Hey! Calm down!" Thalia shouted, breaking the two brothers from their argument. She crossed her arms and sighed. "Get back on subject, before I have to go and take both of your testicles with me." Travis couldn't tell if she was joking or not.
"Well, technically we were on the subject." Travis added quickly before Thalia could burst out. "The singularity happened at the Information Department."
Thalia raised an eyebrow. "I coulda guessed that. How else would the intruder massacre a fully guarded, government department?"
Travis held up his hand, shaking his index finger. "Nope, this singularity happened within the department. 300 floors underground, where a certain royalty assassin was kept."
"So what? The assassin moved into the 300th floor, and used some form of long-distance-multi-uh-transporting Dusk spell—" Thalis's voice trailed off. "Wait, that doesn't make sense."
"Aha, so you've caught on?" Travis grinned deviously. "You'd make an excellent RIA agent."
"Why did the intruder move the bodies of the victims away from the Information Department when they could have simply used the spell to teleport out?" Thalia shook her head. "To grant time for the preparation of the spell? But then, why didn't he lock the department down? It's like something interrupted the intruder."
"Ah, but you see, Thal..." Connor raised one finger. "This last information the RIA had might complicate the mystery..." He paused for effect that honestly got a tad of anxiety out of Thalia. "The Dosk singularity was graphed only 10 minutes after the confirmed death of the last victim."
Thalia's brows ferruled. "So, why the hell did they move the bodies if all they needed were 10 minutes? That's not even enough time to..." Her mouth dropped in sudden realization. "That's not even enough time to move all the bodies."
"Barely enough." Travis corrected, which granted a glare.
"You guys better be messing with me." Thalia said flatly.
The Stolls shook their heads in unison.
"So who the hell was the one responsible for the Dosk spell?"
The crowd thundered below the rooftop, rising louder than it had ever been, reaching the point of becoming uncomfortable.
"Cursed one!"
"Be damned!"
"Cursed orphan!"
"Curse bringer!"
The two guards wrestled the blond girl onto the cross. Her shirt had been torn off, revealing naked flesh. Above her belly was a black mark barely bigger than the palm. Even from hundreds of feet away, Thalia recognized that mark. The mark was in the shape of a bird, a cursed mark, a sigil of the damned and evil.
"On this somber day, we are reminded the End of Days. The end of man and the coming of gods! Today, we shall relieve this world of the harbinger of the curse! In this, we will purify the world anew, and banish the End of Days from the horizon of gods' grace!" The robed man chanted.
"I have to go." Thalia tore her attention away from the stage. Her thoughts sunk into her subconscious as she remembered her father's request.
The Stolls shared a glance before looking back a Thalia, a silent agreement to keep from speaking.
Thalia gave a small wave and a smile. "Thanks, guys."
As the Princess retreated through the roof door, Travis turned back over the rail, resting his elbows on the smooth metal.
"She's always hated these things." Travis finally voiced his bottled thought.
Connor came up from behind, glancing onto the stage below.
"I can't blame her. I don't have the stomach for it." Connor said before turning his head away in a sharp jerk.
Sharp bangs of metal crackled through the streets of Olympia. The bangs of metal; hammer on steel stakes, stakes on flesh, and flesh into stone. Accompanied with the shrill rings were the anguish cries of the cursed girl.
The very stairs that led up the to golden palace stood taller than Thalia. Like a slanted wall, the stairs stretched across the length of a six-lane road; gold etched in marble. Zeus was definitely doesn't shy from grandeur. Vanilla statues lined either side of the stairs, large men with large muscles, doing large manly man things.
Thalia's low murmur could barely be distinguished from the whip of wind on the ebb of the coming storm. She clung to her clothing, tightly wrapping the thin fabric of her cardigan around scrunched form.
Low murmurs were lost in the howling of the wind. Thalia cursed out the impractical usefulness of her thin clothing. Her lips moved with incoherent words as she tried to roll her mind pass the agitations that sucked the fluids from his stomach.
In her low hung uttering, her head collided with a thick, stiff peels of clothing that were of fashion with the Vallahian nobilities. The clothing were supported by plates of metal under its folds, gauntlets and pads on integrated into the uniform revealing the militaristic nature of its wearer, showing the reluctance to release his armor for the cushy life of other nobility.
Thalia stepped back, her eyes ticked as she opened her mouth for a stern gibe. Her words were lost on her lips, her scowl softened into a dumbfound surprise.
"Thea," you're back.
"That's Sir, to you." The man, Thea spoke, softly his deep green eyes sharp and patient. The very wind seemed to come at attention with his voice.
"Shut up." Thalia snapped her head, her glower returning to her eyes.
"Oh, please. I was merely jesting." Thea reached out a ruffled her hear, an action that deepened Thalia's glare, but she made to move to distance herself. "It's nice to see you fairing well."
There was kindness in his words, a soft affection that stirred a heat from within Thalia's belly, whipping aware her awareness of the cold lashes of the wind. And in that voice there was something incredibly wrong.
It wasn't the voice itself, nor was there anything different in his speech. Thalia simply noticed something in him that she had never realized, something that she couldn't grab at. Something that felt so familiar.
Thea retracted his hand, his eyebrows furled into a light tint of concern.
"Thalia, what's happened?" Thea spoke, his voice indecipherable. "You are here to speak with your father." It was more statement than question. And all at once, understanding settled over the man. He ran his hand through his raven black hair that seemed to curl ever so slightly at the ends. "Thalia, remember that if you need me, I am here."
Thea retreated, walking pass her without another word.
Thalia frown, her hands came together, fingers twisting into a knot. If only you were here more often.
The golden gates rumbled open, revealing the hall of Zeus. Pillars of marble lined the hall leading a lift of stairs. Tower knights of gold loomed over the room, backs pressed against the columns, supporting the ceiling above. The floor was a warm white, etched with gold, its surface so polished it reflected the room like a mirror.
Thalia knelt down at the base of the steps, her hung lightly on over her hung over the floor, one arm pressed behind her and the other pressed over her chest.
"Father." She spoke the words in every way except how one should say it.
The King, King of Stone, remained silent; his gaze bore obsidian blades into her back. The floor shrunk and the walls contracted. The room grew smaller, the slabs of stone and marble crunched together, tense and stiff, ready to dislodge.
The air grew thick with a scentless malodor. The aroma was far overwhelming the senses, Thalia could feel her skin peeling. She gasped out for air, but she couldn't move from her submissive slouch. Stones pressed on her back, crushing her into the ground.
"How long will you remain kneeling there?" The Stone King Spoke, his voice a tremor, not in sound of touch, but the tremor of souls.
Thalia's jaw tightened. Damn him! Damn Zeus. He would never let her be. He would never let allow her to be as she is, even now. Should she get up, it is only to his approval that she does so, or she could remain kneeling, forever in submitting herself to him. Even when she rebels, it is only because he allows it.
Thalia pulled herself up; her eyes remained on the floor.
"You have summon me, Father." Thalia spoke, her voice shallow and dry to her own ears.
"I have summoned the captain of the Silver Knights." Zeus corrected, his voice low with almost a taunting challenge in them.
"I am at your service, your Majesty."
"I only require the most loyal of servants, nothing lesser will be allowed in my court."
"My body is yours, my soul soil the grounds of Valhalla."
"Then hold up your spear, knight, and take your life."
Thalia's body froze and then thawed. She felt weight left from her shoulders, stone from her flesh, and momentarily she ponders whither she has ever felt lighter.
With a snap of left wrist, her bracelet materialized into liquid light, twirling elegantly through her fingers. The rod of light shattered into a bronze spear, rotating in Thalia's hand before coming to a halt, the head facing downwards.
Thalia stared into the marble reflection, and in the vanilla stone she saw a girl, wrapped in lavish wears for kings, a crown placed up top her hair, a spear held delicately with her fingers, and a deep glare marred her features as she glowered distastefully back into Thalia's eyes. A small girl, in a white gown, stained green from playing out in the grass, a spear held in both hand, staring incomprehensibly at the weaponry. And a soldier, clad in armor and leather, her eyes battle harden, holding a bronze spear, a knight that always closes her eyes every time she strikes a final time.
Cracks spread across the features of the girl, the mirror, the tip of the spear buried into the floor.
Zeus remained unaffected, merely a narrowing of his eyes. "Will you not take your own life?"
"No." Thalia spoke, her voice quite in the empty room.
"You defy my orders." Thalia did not respond. "By doing so you have committed an act of treason." "I will not kill myself." Thalia spoke once more.
"On whose word do you call to which holds authority over my command?"
"My own, as a Knight of Silver, I cannot kill the heir to the throne. I serve Valhalla before I serve any one man. I will life on decree as knight, to serve the Heart of Valhalla."
"You will serve Valhalla? I am the law of the land; my words are constitutions of this city. My will is the will of Valhalla, my heart is the Heart of Valhalla, my reign beckons the Knights of the Skies, and my strength is the might of Valhalla!" The throne room lightened from his dark grasp, the air returned to their lungs. "So, tell me, what words you pray upon that give you your authority?" "My authority as the princess of Valhalla." Thalia's head snapped up from the ground, her teeth grounded, you eyes ablaze.
Zeus breathes out, his composure relaxed. Momentarily his eyes close, and in that moment, the tension escaped the room.
"Very well." Zeus spoke at last, his gaze pressed on Thalia's figure. "Take up your responsibility as princess, take up the authority to change this very world, rather than a mere disposable captain."
Thalia's anger smoldered, her eyes narrowed.
"I am willing to promote you, Thalia, to the rank of General of the Seven Skies." Those very words, words that struck Thalia's very bones. She felt weak, her legs buckled beneath her, and her grip on her spear tightened. Seven Skies; the greatest upon the greatest to ever trek the lands of this world? The Heralds of Chaos under the doctrine of peace, each with the will of an army and the reach of the skies. I would be merely 7 steps away from Thea, Primus Est, Per Septem Caelos: Arcadia's Fallen.
"I can't." Thalia spoke; regret hanging from her every word. "I have yet to finish my missions here, now."
"You dare reject my grant?" Zeus' voice rose, the room shook. "How can you abandon the mantle gifted to you? Will you leave those who need the leadership of the Seven?"
"I can't, there are more I must complete before I can leave." Thalia state, her words hardened her uncertainty.
"Will you run away, once more?"
"I am not running away, I am facing adversaries that I cannot ignore."
Zeus and Thalia locked eyes, a heated bolt crossed between the two. Zeus closed his eyes; weariness seemed to wash over him for a mere blink of an eye.
"Very well." He spoke, his eyes still closed. "You are to complete your mission hastily. Once you have finished, you will take the roles of true importance." Thalia turned, her spear flipped in her hand before disappearing in a shatter of light.
The golden gates locked behind Thalia's exit, plunging the room into silence. The shadows grew darker, the quiet, more silent.
"You have failed me." Zeus spoke, his eyes stern on the golden doors.
A shuffle and a figure detached himself from one of the pillars, walking from the shadows, barely in the rays of light. His eyes opened, a raging sea within his piercing spheres. His hands rose, elegant fingers touching his forehead, lightly brushing the raven black silk of hair back before they fell stubbornly back in place.
"A failure cannot be condemned, it can merely be mended."
Wow, don't worry, we'll be back to Percy next chapter. A little bit more of Thalia before she's actually going to be of importance.
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