Stonewell gave Edward a quick rundown of the changes he implemented while he was in the infirmary. To combat the loss in manpower, the Captain decided to have one sentry instead of two at every post and have the remainder of guards patrol the area in overlapping intervals. He confessed that they would need to recruit more guards, perhaps from the main army that were either conducting missions along the coast of Arendelle or being housed in bases throughout the kingdom.
The young man agreed with the sentiment but his mind was distracted by the conversation that he had with the Earl and what it could mean for the immediate future. He didn't show that any of what the man said bothered him but as soon as he was clear, his hands started to shake. After he told the Captain the situation, the old man remained quiet for a few moments as he pondered the development and then completely disregarded it in favor of Arendelle's defense.
He was the Captain of the Royal Guard after all.
However now that they were caught up on the situation, the old man decided to take a moment to address the young man's worries. "Alright look runt, despite the headache that asshat will be now that he knows what's going on, that still doesn't mean he can screw you over as easily as he would like to think. Regardless of whatever the council tries to pull, Her Majesty still has all the power despite what she or they might think. They cannot risk getting on her bad side, while she may be a risk to them, she's their only trump card in case the capitol is attacked. They use her as a deterrent that while she prioritizes peace above all, she has the ability to decimate any army sent to oppose her. Making her out to be a dangerous threat would have other kingdoms banding together to get rid of her. The council isn't that stupid, so for now, I'm pretty sure that asshat will lay low and try to get more information about you."
Edward could see the logic in the old man's words but there was one thing that still worried him. "He knows that I massacre innocent women and children, how could he possibly have known that?"
That made Stonewell frown as he tapped his fingertips against one another for a time. "He shouldn't know that. The details surrounding that particular loss of life is a closely confidential secret due to the series of events that transpired. Alrick said that he rallied many soldiers to his cause by telling them Rakat ordered the death of civilians but he never said who was the one to do it. There's also the fact that you told me that you only admitted to the crime twice; once to the Mystic Guard survivors and again to Ahimoth. The first time, you left no survivors so they couldn't have possibly been able to tell anyone else, the second only Ahimoth, Lelian, and the royal family were there, there is no way that Earl could've found out unless someone you told, told him."
The young man came to the same conclusion but everyone he told was trustworthy beyond measure and wouldn't tell a soul. The council in Blackdust might have an idea that Rahim did it since they were there during the civil war and after becoming Wrath, he never bothered hiding and his kills were always the same. Still though, Alrick wouldn't have told them that he was here in Arendelle nor would he tell the Earl that Rahim, Edward, and Wrath were all the same person. Which begged the question.
How did the Earl find out that Edward was the one who killed those people?
"You really think anyone I told would tell him?"
"No and that's what bothers me. If he didn't find out from someone you told then that would mean that he has another source of information. Whether that source is a friend or foe remains to be seen. For now, you can't let this bother you. Or at least act like it doesn't, the more you show him how unsettled you are, the more rope you give him to hang you with."
Those rather poor choice of words brought back the memory of Rahim's soul echo hanging him off the castle's bell balcony. That night had his fears coming to the present and hurting the people he came to care for. All those guards that lost their lives were all stains on his conscience. He'd be lying if he said that their deaths didn't bother him but his first encounter with the soul echo showed him how weak he was when he hesitated. Their second go around when he came back as Wrath, he wasn't going to hesitate despite their deaths still lingering in his mind.
"I'll keep my balance."
Stonewell put a cigar in his mouth and lit it then took a puff of it before he spoke. "Now you're getting it."
Pushing those thoughts to the back of his head, Edward realized that everything he needed to do was addressed which now gave him time to fulfill a promise he made. Taking some steps toward the gate, he raised a hand to wave at the Captain with his back turned. "Alright old man, I got something that I need to do. I'll be around if you need me."
The young man could imagine the scoff that Stonewell likely did as he walked through the gates into Arendelle. It didn't take him too long of a walk to get to the hospital front door which he was at the night prior. Going through the door, he walked up to the front desk where an older woman was sorting pieces of parchment. His footsteps signaled the woman that she had a visitor and she looked up from her work to see the young man.
"Excuse me, I'm here to pick up Lina Klein."
"Oh yes, you must be Edward. Lina has been excited all morning waiting for you. She's in her room."
The young man thanked the woman and traversed the halls until he got to a familiar door. Knocking on it a few times, he entered the room and was immediately rushed by a small ball of energy that was the little girl.
"Eddy!"
Edward chuckled and noticed that she was dressed in a warm white coat and had a stocking hat and some mittens. While it was starting to get warmer, it was still cold and the little girl was already sickly. The young man bent down and gave the little girl a quick hug before releasing her.
"Hey Lina, you ready to go?"
The little girl nodded excitedly and he took her hand in one of his before leaving the room and hospital to go to the castle. As they walked to the castle, the little girl's face filled with wonder as she could see it in the distance. Crossing the bridge where the two guards saluted had the little girl give her own little salute that made all three grown men chuckle. The courtyard wasn't empty as it had a few of the staff walking in and out while some of the guards patrolled the area. If anyone found it odd that the young man was walking around with a little girl, no one said anything.
As they entered the castle, Lina's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates as she took in the interior decorating. She was attracted to every little ornament or painting that she could see as well as how high the ceiling was. Edward kept close to her in case she touched something she wasn't supposed to but for the most part just followed behind her. After he was sure that she'd seen everything in the main hall of the castle, he tapped her shoulder to get her attention.
"You ready to see your brother?"
Lina nodded her head vigorously as she once again took Edward's hand and followed him up the steps to the second floor. Upon seeing the ice ramp, the little girl jumped on it and expected to slide down but was somewhat disappointed that she didn't. Before she could get off though, the young man gave her arm a firm tug while striding up the stairs skipping a few at a time, making her slide up the ramp.
The giggles she made was like music to his ears as he kept rushing up the stairs and when he reached the top, he gave her one last pull and she was launched a little bit off the ground as she cleared the steps. Landing on her feet with some help from the young man, Lina looked back down at the ice ramp and looked at him with a hopeful expression.
"Can we slide back down?"
"You can't slide down this ice, Queen Elsa made it so that you wouldn't slip. Besides, we need to see your brother first, I'm sure he missed you and wish he could've seen you yesterday."
The little girl's face quickly morphed into one of understanding as she nodded her head and followed him to the infirmary. The doors to their destination appeared before them and the young man motioned for her to stay put for a second. While he had looked in earlier today and couldn't remember any gruesome injuries, he wanted to be sure before letting the little girl in. Opening the door, he quickly scanned the room and mentally catalogued all the patients as well as their injuries. Upon realizing that none of them were too serious, he focused on finding Cameron.
The elder Klein was propped up in a bed at the back left corner of the room. His head was bandaged from being slammed into the ground as well as getting hit by Rahim's sheath. Truthfully, he should've been dead, Rahim's soul echo was under guard of several men including the young guard and killed them all but him. Whatever stayed the soul echo's hand was a blessing considering the sheer amount of bloodlust that oozed out of him.
Filing those thoughts away and instead being glad that the young guard was alive and now could see his little sister, Edward motioned for Lina to walk behind him and stay quiet. The little girl giggled and did her best to hide in his shadow as the young man walked over to the guard who was so engrossed in reading a book. It was easy to walk right up to him and pluck the book right out from the guard's hand so he could see it for himself.
"The Tactics and Strategies of Brilliant Minds, looks like someone's trying to get a leg up on the others."
This brought a bright red blush and a sheepish grin from Klein who ducked his head a little. "It was just something the Captain leant to me when I asked where he came up with all of his patrol routes."
"The old man gave you this? Well then you better hurry up and finish it before he decides to test you on the material. As I'm sure you're aware, he's quite thorough when it comes to testing people."
Cameron thought back when an intruder was standing right next to him yet the Captain had a pistol aimed in his face and made him yell his loyalty to Her Majesty. Upon reading the book, he realized that what Stonewell did was a tactic to instill courage and purpose into the other guards. He chose someone who was indebted to the crown and personally believed who they were serving and challenged their commitment forcing the person to loudly show his colors as well as the pride he had serving them so the other guards would feel the same. It worked given that the Captain gave a rousing speech and chose the Private to protect the Princess while they secured Arendelle and prepared to go out and rescue the Queen.
The men who were sent to arrest the Queen's kidnapper had all volunteered to 'give that son of a bitch payback' but unfortunately were all killed in action. That drove home that they needed more training and who was better to train them than the guy who was able to fight the kidnapper one on one and captured him with the help of only two others?
"Yeah...I still can't look him in the eye without a shiver going down my spine…"
Edward could relate. The Captain was quite the enigma. Despite his age and his bad habits, the guy was a nightmare to the wrong people. Having been on the receiving end of his blades more than once, the young man could only imagine how other people who actually got to know the old guy really thought about him. The royals got the surly grandpa from him while his guards got the hard as nails Captain who was damn near unstoppable.
However deep down, the old man did have a heart. It was in the little things that he did that made him such an inspiring figure for the guards.
"Yeah, that's something that is never going to change. At least you can always count on him to have your back."
"Heh, you're right. Anyway, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be off with the Captain to deal with royal guard concerns, at least that's what the other guys were saying when you called for that assembly."
Edward shrugged his shoulders and was about to answer but he felt someone pushing against the back of his knees. He didn't look back but he could easily tell that it was Lina getting impatient. "Well I'm still not an official part of the Arendelle guard so those concerns are not my business as I've been told. Instead I decided to visit the local hospital and ran into a special someone who says she misses her brother."
Cameron's eyes widened as he realized who the young man was talking about. He had totally forgotten about his little sister with all the commotion going on. She was probably worried since he didn't come to visit her yesterday. "How is she? Please tell me you didn't tell her about the attack last night, I don't want her to be worried."
The young man had a gentle smile on his face as he took in the look on the young guard's face. There was fear and apprehension in his eyes but they were only out of concern for his younger sibling. It was a beautiful thing to see the love between siblings, it brought back memories of the usually serious Shahbaz trying to cheer up his stoic little brother.
Finally deciding to spring his surprise, Edward stepped to the side revealing the little girl. "I did tell her, and she is so proud of her big brother."
"Cameron!" Upon seeing her brother, the little girl hopped on the bed so she could give her brother a hug. The young guard returned the hug with a stunned expression on his face as he never expected to see his little sister here.
"Lina, you're here? But I thought that you were too sick to leave your bed."
"They said I was well enough to take walks and Eddy said that since you got hurt you wouldn't be able to visit, so he said he would bring me so I could see you. He also brought this nice lady that said I could meet Queen Elsa!" The young guard was stunned to hear what the little girl said and didn't know what to think until she started coughing causing him to snap out of it and worry about her condition.
"Come on Lina you need to calm down, you don't want your condition getting any worse." The little girl kept coughing a bit which prompted Edward to grab some water and give it to her which she gratefully took. After a few moments of her drinking it all, her coughing subsided and she handed the young man the glass back.
"Thank you Eddy."
Edward smiled and gestured toward Cameron who had a worried look on his face. "Just make sure to take it easy, don't want to worry your brother."
Lina nodded as she turned back to her brother who gave her another tight hug before letting her go. "So, you're really going to meet Queen Elsa? Who is this lady who said you could?"
The little girl's eyes began to sparkle as she regaled her brother about the visit from Edward and the blonde lady coming to visit her. She also told him about the gift that woman left behind that had her excited for tomorrow. As she spoke, the elder Klein had a good idea what happened and in his mind he sent Her Majesty more of his prayers and his ever dying loyalty that she earned by visiting his little sister. After Lina finished speaking, the guard had a soft smile one his face as he patted her on the head.
"Sounds like you have a once in a lifetime chance, you hurry and go see her." He then looked back up at Edward who was still standing by the bed with his arms crossed looking at the pair.
"Do you mind staying with her for the day? I know you might have other things to do but it would really mean the world to me if she was with someone that can keep her out of trouble."
The young man chuckled before patting Cameron on the shoulder. "Why you talking like you can't come with, part of the reason we're here is so you can come with us while we give her a tour. Now get out of bed and get dressed."
The young guard opened and closed his mouth a few times at the young man's words and was about to say that the Doctor hadn't cleared him from leaving his bed yet but Edward already yanked the sheets off and tugged the guard to his feet. Cameron's balance was a bit sketchy but thanks to Edward's firm grip, he managed to regain it and was able to stand. He was still wearing a thin shirt and some pants with no shoes which made the young man walk over to one of the closest and tossed him a pair of boots and a jacket.
The young guard could only dumbly put on the articles of clothing then was physically led out by his little sister and instructor.
The sound of rushing water was the first thing that registered in his mind. As it grew louder and louder as his consciousness returned, so did the aches and pains that plagued his body as well as the hunger and thirst that weakened him. Still through all deterrents, Alrick forced his eyes open and realized he was staring at a stone ceiling. His mind still hasn't completely awakened, had him look around to know his surroundings. He looked left, toward the sound of water and could see a wall of it covering the only way out of the cave.
As soon as his mind recognized it was water, his mouth dried up and demanded that he hydrate himself. Rolling over on his stomach, he didn't realize that he was now wearing a jacket and struggled into a crawling position where he took a few moments to crawl over to the water before putting his head in it and opening his mouth. Sweet water instantly poured down his throat which had him choking after a few seconds forcing him to pull his head out of it to cough water out of his lungs before going in for another round.
After a few rounds of hydrating himself and coughing up water, he was finally able to satisfy his thirst. With that basic need completed, his stomach spoke up next and demanded he get food.
"About time you woke up."
If Alrick was in better condition, he would've snapped his body around to face the person who surprised him but in his current state all he could do was roll over to face them. Sitting further away from the wall of water next to the wall on the adjacent side was a black haired woman who was picking at a fire that had a dead fox above it.
Upon seeing her face, his mind decided to awaken and all of his memories of what happened before he passed out flashed in his mind. The last memory that flashed in his head was of those guards capturing him once again. Immediately, Alrick's fight or flight response kicked in and he tried to get to his feet and dive for the woman but he couldn't even get to his knees and landed on his face.
Cassandra watched the failed attempt at a tackle with some satisfaction since he had dispatched her so easily when they first met. She had said nothing as she watched him get water, completely impressed he managed to drag himself at all for it. She knew that he'd be starving and thirsty which was why she went out to hunt for some food and got some then returned to cook it and prepare it for dinner.
"Relax, I'm not here to fight you. Nor am I with the guys that attacked you last time. As much as I hate to admit it, I think I made a bad call when we first met when I assumed you were an enemy and didn't really think about it. You see, I've been looking for someone who has disappeared a while ago and when I noticed something was off about the village my friend lives, I decided to investigate and wasn't expecting you to appear out of nowhere looking the way you did. It never occurred to me that the person I've been looking for has been captured and maybe tortured."
Alrick listened to what she said but his eyes were glued to the fox that was cooking over the fire, he wanted food, he needed to eat. His survival instincts weren't telling him that he needed to kill the woman, no they were telling him to disregard her and focus on the food. Crawling slowly to the fire, he made it to the base of it before his arm gave out. It was right there and he couldn't grab it. His stomach cursed at him as he laid there but then he heard the sound of meat tearing from being cut by a knife.
Then a piece of fox meat was placed in his hand. The meat burned his palm a bit but he didn't mind, the fact that it was in his hands gave him the strength to bring the food to his mouth and take a large bite out of it. His jaw ached but he continued to chew, the food in his mouth burned his tongue but he didn't care and finally he swallowed it. When it dropped down his throat and burned his stomach, his body got a burst of strength as he wolfed down the rest of the meat in his hand and after eating it, dived for the rest of the fox that was above the fire.
Cassandra wasn't too surprised that he went for the entire fox, more impressed than anything. She watched him savagely wolf down the animal that must've still been burning hot to the touch. After he finished the meal, she watched him struggle to his feet before he stood to his full height and looked down at her. The expression he made wasn't one that brought out fear in others but one where he was still suspicious yet trying to relax.
He looked down at himself and noticed he was dressed and his wounds had been bound by dirty scraps of clothing likely from the men who captured him. The wounded man looked at her and his face hesitated before finally he bowed his head to her.
"Thank you for helping me and I apologize for my earlier treatment of you."
The apology was heartfelt yet also carried a dose of suspicion, which was normal. The handmaiden stayed seated where she was, she wasn't going to make any fast moves to avoid startling the man.
"You're welcome. Like I was saying before, I'm looking for someone who disappeared a few days ago, I was hoping to find some trace of him anywhere but have come up with nothing, until now. You were captured and tortured by those men who weren't part of the Corona army and were well too organized to be just bandits. Which leads me to ask, are you King Alrick?"
The man remained silent as he debated if he wanted to answer that question. She could tell that he was weighing his options until he finally opened his mouth to speak.
"I am. Can I assume that you are part of Corona?"
"Names Cassandra Your Majesty, handmaiden to Her Highness Princess Rapunzel."
Alrick nodded before reaching into his pants and felt for the letter that was hidden in them. When his fingers found the parchment, the King pulled it out and held it out to the dark haired woman. Curious of what it could be, Cassandra took it and opened it then started to read it. As she read it, her face grew more and more worried as she shot up in surprise.
"This can't be...Arendelle is going to be invaded?"
The King nodded and watched the woman intensely. While he didn't exactly trust her, she did save him and gave him food. If she were one of the men who captured him, he would likely be bound or in horrible conditions. There was also the chance that she could still be working for them and only wanted to find out what he had learned in his escape attempt which was why he was looking at her reaction to the letter.
Actual worry crossed her face as she paced and reread the letter a couple of times getting every detail that she could make out. "Wait, Victor Soloman? That was Varian's pal's name. You're saying he's a part of this? What about this Garret guy and those other two guys in the letter, are they spies?"
She kept asking questions as soon as they popped up in her mind and Alrick frowned when he realized how little he actually knew, but it didn't matter.
Placing his heavy hands on her shoulders to stop her from pacing, he fixed her with an intense look. "Cassandra, I don't know much about what's going on but I do know Arendelle is in danger, we need to return to the capitol, how far away are we?"
The woman's eyes instantly focused at the pointed questions and answered befitting a soldier. "We aren't too far away, we're on the outskirts of the capitol. If we were on horseback we could get there in no time but with those guys still on the loose and you not being full strength, I thought it best that we lay low. I asked Varian to hurry to the capitol to have reinforcements sent to his village to secure it and deal with those men. It shouldn't take him too long to relay my message and guards should be on their way, I suggest we wait until they arrive..."
It was a safe plan but one he didn't wish to employ, he had no idea when the letter was sent and how long he had been captured. If they waited too long then it could be too late.
"...which is what my dad would want me to say. But with this going on and you being on your feet now, we should hurry back to the castle. Maybe if we're lucky we can meet the reinforcements on the way there or we can steal some horses from those guys who were chasing you."
Alrick watched Cassandra pack the little she had with her while taking a piece of burning wood from the fire. She gestured for him to follow her and they exited the cave by going along a hidden path next to the waterfall. Reaching the outside, it was revealed to still be night time. The woman went along the treeline before pulling her arm back and chucking the burning piece of wood into the depths of the forest and watched the sparks beginning to spread. After doing so, she pointed in the other direction while digging a pistol out of her sling sack with some powder and extra shots then handing them to the King.
"Come on, they'll be on top of us looking for that smoke, we need to get going."
Securing the pistol and small sack in his jacket, Alrick kept up with the steady pace that Cassandra was setting. Not too fast to tire him out but also enough to get them moving.
Edward, Lina, and Cameron were exploring the castle as they were told earlier by one of the staff that Her Majesty was in a meeting and she would be available during lunch. The three had been to the bell balcony, the library, the garden, barracks, main hall, as well as the throne room, and were now just wandering aimlessly through the castle.
As they continued to walk, something kept prodding at the young man's head. It wasn't an annoying prodding or a noticeable one, just one that gave off a hint every so often. For the most part, he ignored it, thought that he was imagining it because when he tried to focus on it, he couldn't place the feeling.
After a few tries of attempting to figure it out, Edward gave up and pushed it out of his mind. Lina's uncontainable excitement was easily able to grab his attention which was welcomed. She asked endless questions about the halls that made him wish he brought Anna along so that the little girl's questions could be answered. He and Cameron did what they could but half of their answers were 'I don't know.'
Lina had taken the lead and rounded a corner before she noticed that there were two guards at the end of a hallway. Seeing them wasn't that much of a surprise, the odd thing was that the two older men knew that behind them was the east wing. That particular part of the castle was closed due to it being old and no one really went over there. The Captain only put a few guards on the hallways before it but not there itself.
Believing that the guards were just put there to cover possible entry points, the two men were about to push it out of their mind when they saw one of the guards look back toward a door and started to speak with someone. Lina started to go down that way which made Cameron forget about the guards and reach out to stop and tell her that it was a dead end.
Edward on the other hand, felt the prodding return with a revenge but this time he could tell exactly where it was coming from. It was ahead of him behind the two guards. Without thinking too much about it, the young man took long purposeful strides toward the guards who noticed he was coming and straightened out and stood at attention.
"Halt, this area is off limits. Leave at once."
The young man did a quick once over at the two men and realized that they were in Stonewell's advanced class. As a matter of fact, the more he studied them, the more he recognized them. They were part of the same four that Hector would pick to replace him whenever he was occupied with something. He hadn't seen them many times and Elsa had pointed them out to him once when he expressed a concern for her safety that Hector couldn't be around at all times.
He couldn't really remember anything special about them, not even their names. They never fought in the tournament to select Elsa's personal guard, he briefly had them attend his class when Stonewell split up the candidates but they never did anything out of the ordinary. With him being so friendly with the other guards, he was somewhat surprised to get a stern warning like that. It made him snap out of his brief trance of finding out where the prodding was coming from.
"Sorry, don't know what I was thinking."
Edward turned to leave when he heard a voice that made him freeze.
"Excuse me guard, can you please tell Ms. Stillwater that I will require her to pick up more of my research notes from my home before we start our session tomorrow?"
He knew that voice.
It was the one that tormented him for so long, both as Rahim and Wrath.
The young man's mind started to fill with memories of Talib forcing Rahim and Shahbaz to learn every inch of the human body and how to destroy it. They started on corpses as children then when they entered their teens, they moved on to captured prisoners. The alchemist sometimes locked one of them in with the inmates and promised the one who remained alive freedom.
This drove home that when pushed far enough, people were capable of a great many things.
For a captured soldier trying to defend his home, he stooped so low that he tried to kill a twelve year old child.
For that twelve year old child that watched his mother die and was forced to live with an apathetic father, he was pushed far enough to know that no matter who they were, they could be killed.
The deathmatches that Rahim and Shahbaz were subjected to were quite rare and only used to drive home a critical lesson. This teaching method of having their lives threatened hardened the brothers into killers who didn't hesitate when it came down to who wanted to live, them or the enemy. It also allowed them to use their knowledge of the human body in creative and grotesque ways.
Like the nose, if you put your fingers deep in someone's nose and pulled, no matter how strong they were, their head would go up.
It was a great way to slit their throat when they tried to keep their head down and you had them from behind.
Edward didn't realize that he was standing in front of the door that led to the east wing and that the guards were slumped against the walls after they've been harshly pushed out his way. Lina and Cameron were appalled at his violent reaction and called out to him but their voices were mute to him.
He remembered seeing Talib at Anna's wedding and didn't know what he was going to do when he confronted him. His body just went on autopilot like it was doing now. He still didn't know what he was going to do but that didn't stop him from grasping the door handle and trying to open it. When it wouldn't budge and revealed that it was locked, Edward didn't even care to ask for the key.
His hand that was on the handle grew claws and red scales ripped the piece of the door out with little effort. With the lock literally in his hands, Edward pushed open the door and standing right on the other side wearing the same damn glasses he wore everyday, was Talib looking at him with a somewhat shocked expression.
"Oh."
A beat passed.
The two men looked at one another with varying degrees of shock and didn't speak. Edward's mind went blank as he tried to sort out what he should do while Garret was wondering how he would explain this to Elsa.
Coming up with just telling her that they passed each other by in the hallway and he didn't initiate the contact, the alchemist turned to return to his quarters, his earlier request a lot less important than it was a moment ago. An iron grip caught his arm as he tried to retreat to the safety of his quarters. Garret held back a sigh as he turned to face Edward who had gotten over the shock and aimed a fierce glare at the man.
"Alrick told me you were dead."
The older of the two could hear the disappointed undertone in the statement but nevertheless kept his expression neutral as he responded.
"You got the wrong guy."
Garret attempted to pull his hand out of the iron grip but found it tightened considerably as he could feel claws digging into his wrist.
"Cut the shit, you and I both know the kind of monster you are."
The alchemist had planned on trying to leave and keep a neutral and nonconfrontational tone to avoid complications but hearing that last sentence made him laugh. The situation he was currently in wasn't funny but the fact that the monster who killed his wife and son accused him of being a monster without knowing anything drove the involuntary action out of his body. He could tell that Wrath didn't appreciate being laughed at and felt his wrist bone get crushed but he continued to laugh in spite of that.
"I'm a monster? Now that is downright humorous coming from you. I've been on this mortal plane for so much longer than almost every living being, even entire kingdoms and despite all that I've done, you are still the beast that haunts my nightmares. So if I'm a monster and you haunt my nightmares what does that make you?"
Edward opened his mouth to respond but Garret held his hand up first.
"Wait, before you open your mouth and likely spout some nonsense that you're the karma or the 'good guy' come to right my wrongs; you should remember that I've done nothing to you. Wrath from the moment you were born, all you were good for were carrying out orders and hunting targets down. Beyond that, you were useless given you didn't have a shred of knowledge in that empty mind of yours. All you were used for was hunting, after that you were put on stand by. Even then, all those people you killed, I didn't even tell you to do so, you instinctively knew where to go and who to kill. So again, what does that make you?"
The young man's eyes narrowed, his teeth grinded against each other as he felt the desire to rain punches on the older man's face wash over him. He could feel Wrath inside him and couldn't sense a shred of emotion coming from the demon. The predator was aware of who was in front of them but to the Sin, he regarded Talib as just another person without any real emotion.
Like they never met before.
Yet for Edward, his mind kept having flashbacks of Talib taking away his sons' childhoods and turning them into cold blooded killers. He remembered Shahbaz doing his best but could remember days where the older brother lamented and grieved whenever he couldn't protect his little brother.
All. Because. Of. Him.
That single thought had his fist cocked back and before he could send it forward two arms wrapped around it. "Edward, what are you doing?!"
Cameron's voice originated from just behind him and he could feel the young guard's arms around his trying to keep it restrained. With the amount of strength the young man possessed, he could've easily shook off the guard and continued his attack but the emotional attachment he had for his pupil gave him pause.
"Klein, let go of me."
In his mind, he said it in a calm and soft voice but in reality, his voice was curt and filled with barely restrained anger. The young guard felt a shiver go down the back of his spine and he considered for a moment complying but looked over to his little sister that had a scared expression as she looked between them and the two guards who were slumped against the wall.
"Edward, listen, you need to stop and think about what you're doing. You assaulted two guards and are about to do the same to a resident of the castle. You need to calm down."
"This…." no word seemed vile enough to describe the alchemist in front of him who had the gall to look somewhat intrigued in the interaction and not show an ounce of fear.
"Bastard, isn't a resident. He's a monster whose only desire is to dissect every living thing to see how it works."
The alchemist chose this time to respond as he used his other hand to push up his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Like I said, you got the wrong guy. That's not my line of work anymore."
Liar!
Just hearing his voice made the young man lose his composure and he sent his fist forward, throwing Klein off in the same motion. When his knuckles made contact with his target's cheek and whipped the alchemist's face to the side, the glasses on his nose went flying and hit the ground yet didn't break. Thanks to his grip on the man's arm, Edward was able to keep him from hitting the ground by jerking his arm and settling him on his knees.
Garret's head was still in the direction it got whipped to and stared at his glasses that were on the floor. The punch in itself wasn't that painful, he's had much worse but it did make his eyes flash bright red for a moment. He quickly reined his more primal instincts and tried to maintain his logical mindset. Currently, he hadn't done anything to make this his fault and he had five witnesses that could say that he was attacked. He wasn't completely done in Arendelle so he wanted to stay in the Queen's good graces.
Fighting Wrath here would set him back.
While he was under no illusions of defeating the Sin in front of him, the part of him that was husband to Dawn and father to Rahim and Shahbaz demanded he cause the beast some of the pain he had to endure. He told himself that that time would come later and it wasn't now. He had Rahim to consider and he couldn't waste any opportunities, so he played possum. He knew that Wrath couldn't outright kill him, the very few abilities he had would prevent that scenario and the commotion would bring more guards who would be forced to subdue the young man.
Raising a hand and keeping his head down, Garret looked like a frightened man pleading with an attacker.
"Please, stop. I've done nothing to you."
Edward could see right through the act as his eyes focused intently on the man in front of him. The pleading only made him angrier and had him pulling the man to his feet before throwing another haymaker that finally put the man on the ground. The alchemist's body went down like a rag doll, no resistance of any kind.
If he weren't in a rage induced shock that prevented his senses and the logical part of his brain to function, he would realize how bad this situation was becoming with every move he made. Unfortunately, every time the alchemist spoke, another memory of Rahim's would cloud his mind and give him a fresh dose of anger.
Edward, you need to calm down.
The young man promptly ignored Wrath when he watched Garret sit up with no difficulty, get to his feet and walk over to his glasses then picking them up. The blow had knocked the alchemist through the door and hidden him from those in the hallway, so he could drop the act for a moment and put his glasses back on.
"Like I said before; you are just a beast. No semblance of control at all. I've done nothing to you, that hate you feel isn't even yours. It's my son's the one that you killed. Pretending that you're Rahim is a sick joke. You aren't him, you will never be him, you will always be just a beast that doesn't know any better than to just kill people because that's all you were meant for."
Edward's eyes flashed and he was about to charge with the intention of destroying the alchemist but the sound of several hurried footsteps registered his mind and he turned just a little too late before being tackled by several men. The tangle of bodies landed on the floor and the young man could determine there were four of them. Each one tried to hold down a limb but were caught off guard by the amount of strength exhibited by their target. The young man threw off the one on his right arm before reaching over and grabbing the one on his left then ripping him off.
This freed his upper body and allowed him to sit up to give the other two on his legs a glare before kicking them both off. With his limbs free, he turned to look into the doorway and could see that Talib hadn't moved from his spot, he had his glasses on that glinted and hid his eyes. His facial expression was calculating, not at all worried that he was about to be attacked.
The young man's anger got another boost as he was about to get up and knock that expression of the man's face but froze when he heard the sounds of flintlocks being primed. He looked back at the end of the hallway and saw eight men all in position with their rifles all pointed at him. Behind them was the woman that he saw that one time standing outside the infirmary a few days ago. Her name escaped his mind but her cold eyes were familiar in some way.
"I suggest you do not move. You have assaulted four of the castle guards as well as a personal guest of the Queen's. Any further acts of violence will be met with lethal force."
Edward scanned each of the guards who were lined up and didn't recognize any of their faces. All of them were wearing a different uniform, one that also seemed familiar from somewhere. Filing that line of thought for later, the young man considered using his abilities to get out of the line of fire and continue his assault but then he caught Klein nursing his head with his little sister clinging to him and looked at the young man with fearful eyes.
She was so excited to see you just this morning.
Wrath's sentence lacked any of the malice that should've come with it but the stab at his heart was painful all the same. Immediate guilt filled him and he got to his knees and put his hands up in a surrendering gesture. The woman made a motion with her hand and two men broke ranks to check on the first two guards who were originally guarding the doorway. As they did so, Edward slid his eyes to the open doorway where Talib still remained hidden from the others.
The alchemist wiped the blood that was coming down from his lip and maintained his calculating expression. However the light didn't glint off his glasses anymore and the young man could see what was behind them.
Absolute certainty was in his eyes.
Like he had expected an outcome and watched it unfold exactly as it should've.
Edward's face scrunched up in anger for a moment before forcing his eyes forward. The waves of anger that clouded his mind had smouldered when he realized the gravity of the situation. It was still there of course but for now, he pushed it down.
He played into Talib's hands again.
He'd get his chance though. He was glad to hear Talib had died but seeing him in Arendelle scared him. Now that he knew where he was, he felt a different emotion.
Bloodlust.
One way or another, he'd pay back Talib for everything he did to him.
Wrath was aware of the situation on the outside and shook his head. Edward was letting Rahim's emotions and memories cloud his judgement. Oddly, the predator didn't feel any semblance of emotion that Edward did. Rahim's memories were just information to him and as such, Talib wasn't a touchy subject to him. He was able to think rationally the entire time yet could not stop the young man as his rage pushed the Sin out completely. He could speak but it obviously wasn't enough.
The predator had to hand it to Talib though, he played the situation perfectly. He made himself a victim and was able to get witnesses to paint him as one. Seeing the plan coming a mile away, Wrath tried taking over but wasn't able to and now all he could do was watch as Edward surrendered, the weight of his actions finally catching up to him.
Cameron looked fine but a little disoriented but Lina looked fearful. She just watched someone who was so nice and gentle to her lose it for a second. Thankfully, Edward didn't take things too far but his actions were still a shock to the little girl.
Considering the meeting with Earl Edward this morning, Wrath could tell that today would be a really bad day.
Especially considering what that woman said.
Queen's personal guest.
Wrath could tell that those words were bouncing around in the young man's head. If what the woman said was true than Elsa knew Talib was in her castle. More to the point, she invited him into her castle.
Without telling Edward.
The predator knew that Elsa and Edward both wanted to act professional in public but he knew that they're next meeting would be anything but.
Long update I'm slipping. I had so much hope for this chapter but it came out as meh, hopefully the next one will be good. Anyway I hope you all enjoyed this and stay tuned for the next one. If you need to contact me please review or just pm me I will respond immediately. Have a nice one.