Shoutouts to askousen44,CoolAid123,jtubby for the favorites/reviews
To the reviewer pup: I do not feel that you are a complainer and I am happy to know you feel strongly about my fanfic enough to voice your opinion and concerns.
For clarification for Edward's actions in the throne room, while yes you could say that was treason, I want to impress on the idea that my Elsa (the one in this fanfic) is hopefully as close to the real one, she doesn't have a history of using her position to get what she wants. People just listen because she is the Queen and she's more concerned with keeping herself in check versus keeping others in check. I feel she would not charge him treason and that if she used her powers in such a way she would feel guilty about it. As for Gerda and Kai doing what they did, I always felt that the two of them have been around a LONG time and probably knew about Elsa's abilities. In my world, I set them up to be her parents since her real ones are gone and if she goes too far, they can pull her back as they care about her that much. When Gerda sent her to her room, the lady was trying to keep her from doing something worse that she would regret later but also said that Elsa WAS Queen and that Edward was expected to follow her directives. BUT if she wanted to include Edward in her life romantically, she would have to learn to share and be open with him about all kinds of things. I personally believe Elsa wouldn't mind if her parents did call her out on something her logical mind would view as wrong such as using her abilities to hurt someone without trying to be diplomatic.
As to what Edward did to her in the throne room and the things he said, those will be addressed later and I will not say anything as they will be spoilers. In chapter 54 he asked if she wanted to be Queen, a question she doesn't know how to answer RIGHT NOW, later in the fanfic I plan on coming back to this as I will come back to why Edward/Wrath's name was left blank on the snowman they made. Also Edward isn't the 'dominant' one out of the two, in most of the chapters he is more likely to bend to her will than the other way around as he views her as a stronger person than he is. The only reason it really came to head in chapter 59 was because seeing Garret's face triggered past issues that Rahim had which ties into the question of 'who is Edward?' The monster that tormented his childhood was sleeping under the same roof as the woman he loves, that's going to mess with anyone. The only reason it didn't escalate further was because Edward recognized what he was doing and backed down before he did something really bad.
Also for the flack about her running away from her problems, that is only partly true, she did run from her duties of Arendelle but Edward admitted that she faced them and is a stronger person for it while he is still on the run. Also keep in mind I wanted Gerda to be a mother figure to Elsa which Edward knows and would want her approval. Personally, my mom scares me even though I'm taller than her and stronger than her and I'm the shortest dude at work and if I'm pushed far enough I'll lose my shit on someone six feet tall. While Edward isn't afraid of her as a person he's afraid of her as what she represents, the mother of the woman he loves and her being disappointed in him equally hurts as he didn't have a mother figure.
Finally for Elsa's status as Queen being questioned, there's a line to that. The family she has will always hold a special place in her heart, she berated Stonewell for fighting Edward which he apologized for while later he was upset at her for not telling him about the relationship she had with him even when she wasn't obligated to say anything to the old man. When it comes to family, I feel Elsa knows that her family doesn't challenge her authority as Queen out of disrespect, more out of concern for her wellbeing. While this HAS brought her some stress to which she inevitably had a meltdown where she drank herself to publicly kissing a man and made it clear she was going to fuck him in his bed then proceeded to vent on him about all the stress. The bottom line is Edward views her as Elsa first then Queen second. He conforms to her role as Queen to make life easier for her but has his issues with it. Elsa appreciates that he sees her as Elsa versus the Snow Queen, that he never feared her abilities, and confides into her all of his fears and insecurities. He recognizes who she is and what she needs at times but in this one instance he lost his cool and was thankfully only seen by a few guards, Grace, Anna, Kristoff, and Ahimoth. No one of true political authority watched their Queen being sent to her room like a little girl. The council are a bunch of assholes but they are also aware of the personality of their Queen and would use whatever means they have against her. If they found out that their Queen was willing to use her powers in such a manner then they would have proof that she wasn't as diplomatic as she claims even though it was just a mistake, one that could've seriously injured a regular person.
In conclusion, I feel Elsa values her family more than her appearance as Queen and out of obligation would sacrifice herself for Arendelle. Which would also cause Edward to fight that outcome as he said that he didn't care if she ran from Arendelle again and anyone dumb enough to try and force her to chose would be killed by him because he sees her as just Elsa and only conforms to her being Queen out of his care for her.
I'm more than willing to answer more concerns of yours however we can conduct this in pm if you register or I will have another block of text in the next chapter in response to your reviews. Please do whatever is more comfortable to you I appreciate the reviews and feedback.
To reviewer SailorCC: Yeah I did not catch that typo at all and the really funny thing is that I remember writing it down and I actually imagined Arianna instead of Iduna. THIS IS WHY I NEED A BETA READER. Anyways thank you for the review and opinion that you think it was a great chapter.
The parlor room where Cameron and Lina were instructed to wait in was spacious as it had only a large couch in the middle of the room with bookshelves and a fireplace along the walls. The older sibling was resting on the one end of the couch as he kept glancing at his little sister who was absentmindedly swinging her legs over the edge of the couch. She hadn't said a word since what happened with Edward. The guard could see that the little girl was disturbed by what just occurred, she had never seen the young man become violent before and to see him toss around other guards doing their jobs must've knocked her for a loop.
Cameron himself was a bit shook up, usually Edward was a very deliberate person and would always think his actions through. Yet today when he saw that man, he completely lost it, Cameron tried to snap him out of it but it made little difference as he was completely thrown off with minimal effort. It made him question who that guest was and why did Edward lose his cool just by seeing him.
His line of thought was interrupted when the very man he was thinking about just walked into the room. His face was absent of any bruising or evidence it had been struck with a significant amount of force and the man's movement indicated no pain as he scanned the room before locking in on a bookshelf and striding over to it. He picked out a book and began to read all the while ignoring the two sets of eyes staring at his back.
Both Kleins wanted to ask the man who he was but failed to form the words. His facial expression didn't get off anything that was off putting to the two, in fact, he looked just tired, like he didn't sleep and knew the day would be long. What made them so reluctant to ask is the kind of answer they thought they could've received.
It was no secret that there was next to nothing known about Edward's life before Arendelle. Multiple guards had asked him during their outings where he was from and what he did before coming here and he would always give vague responses. He would say he used to be a soldier and that he was from Blackdust, that was it. He didn't comment on the civil war that took place, what kind of soldier he was, and why he was here instead of in Blackdust. He didn't bring up any family besides a brother who he hasn't seen in many years.
That was the extent of the knowledge they got from the tolerable young man. Everything else, they had to piece together on their own with their own experiences with him. They knew that he was very controlled, would rather avoid violence than seek it, preferred to keep to himself if it was possible but would help out a friend anytime, and was kind beyond measure. That was the Edward they had come to know and respect in the time he had been here, even with his conflict with the Captain and Hector, the young man was a great guy all around.
It didn't fit to see him lose it so completely that he would assault a few guards and a guest of Her Majesty.
That suggested that there was something special between this man and the instructor. What it could be was something that Cameron wanted to know but didn't want to hear something that would completely change his opinion of Edward who had become somewhat of a big brother to him. So the two of them remained quiet as they stared at the fireplace and listened to the occasional sound of the mysterious man turning a page in his book.
This didn't go on too long as some voices could be heard on the other side of the door they walked through. It seemed that someone was speaking to the guards outside the door. Had it been Her Majesty, they would've just opened the door for her without a word but since they were still speaking it had to be someone else. Cameron's mind instantly considered that Edward had come back after being escorted under armed guard to finish what he started but sighed in relief when the Prince and Princess walked through the door followed by the Prince of Blackdust.
Anna scanned the room and locked eyes with Cameron and her face split into a small smile as she waved at him. "Hi Cameron, I'm glad to see you're alright." The guard stood up and bowed to the Princess who instantly went over and picked him up.
"You know that I prefer people don't do that, just call me Anna."
"That would be improper, Your Highness."
The redhead playfully scoffed as she looked to the couch and saw Lina who looked somewhat shy as she edged away from the group. It seemed that the little girl only showed her true personality around people she knew and with her being in a castle she was a bit apprehensive meeting other royalty. Anna raised a hand and reached out her hand in a handshake as she spoke with a soft calming voice. "Hello, my name is Anna, what's yours?"
Lina looked at the outstretched hand and softly grasped it and shook it as she responded. "Lina." The redhead smiled and let go of the hand and took a seat on the other side of the couch but kept the little girl in sight. "That's a beautiful name, Lina, you must be Cameron's little sister. He talks about you a lot and I never had the chance to meet you before but I'm glad I can now."
Kristoff chose this time to walk next to his wife and put on a welcoming expression too as he waved at the little girl. "I'm Kristoff, and she's right. We've heard a lot about you just never had the chance to meet, it's nice to finally meet you Lina." The little girl could see their welcoming expressions and glanced at her big brother who nodded encouragingly and she scooted closer to them and started to open up.
As this was happening, Ahimoth kept his eyes fixed on Garret who looked up from his book to watch the warm exchange before he slid his eyes over to the Prince's. Shutting the book with finality, the man replaced the book where he got it from and took steps toward the large man then stopped and bowed when he was close enough.
"Your Highness, I'm glad to see you're recovering well."
The diction that the man used made Ahimoth narrow his eyes but keep his mouth shut. There was no doubt in the larger man's mind that Sobel knew how he obtained his injuries and while he may not have been responsible, it was obvious that the man was hiding something.
"My wounds weren't that serious, Doctor says I will fully recover with time." The bespectacled man nodded his head as he kept his eyes on the Prince who had a suspicious look in his own eyes. The exchange had been noticed by the other occupants in the room and caused Kristoff to speak up.
"Hey, Cameron, you want to come with me to the stables, I haven't seen Sven in a while and I don't think he'd mind letting Lina ride him if she wants."
The young guard looked torn between leaving but could see that the impending conversation may not be suited for a little girl so he agreed. He gestured for Lina to follow him who was also looking between the Prince and mysterious man, her expression making it obvious she knew something was going on. It took her a few tugs but she followed her big brother and mountain man out the room leaving the two royals with the man.
Ahimoth waited a few moments after the door closed before he crossed his arms with his crutches propping him up. "Now that we're alone, why don't you tell us what's really going on here."
Garret's facial expression didn't change as his eyes slid to Anna's for a moment before returning to the Prince. "I don't have any idea what you could possibly mean. I only wish to convey to Her Majesty that I did not actively seek this confrontation and am still fully cooperating with her requests."
"Oh I'm sure you have been fully cooperative, that's not what I was talking about. You see, I was there when Talib's body was brought in by his son. There was no pulse, he was dead, whoever was after him made sure of that. I also know that Talib didn't have any brothers, only a wife and two boys. You said that if I had the slightest idea of how your life has gone I wouldn't ask why I should help you. Plus, both you and Mary said that Father wanted you dead, because you knew too much. While you may have been giving information to Her Majesty, I want to know is how you know all of this."
Sobel's face became thoughtful as if he was considering how he should answer that. If he told them exactly how he knew what he did, there were too many risks to him being able to stay here. He was only being tolerated here because the Queen thought she could contain him if he did try something. While that was true to a certain degree, he could still cause a great deal of damage if he was pushed far enough.
He couldn't beat Wrath in a fight to the finish but he could outmaneueaver Elsa who should be able to contain Wrath.
In theory, if he couldn't beat Wrath who could beat Elsa, he shouldn't be able to beat Elsa. That was in theory, in practicality, he had an advantage over the Elemental. He was much smarter than her and knew the scope of her abilities quite well. She is very intelligent and her powers are formidable, yet she knew nothing of his abilities and she was bound by her human emotions that clouded her logical thinking.
Wrath could beat him because the Sin was designed to be as efficient as possible. The predator had been quite familiar with Sobel's abilities and could easily outmanever him if it came down to it. While it wasn't impossible for him to beat Wrath, it would take a lot of planning to put him in a situation where he would have the upper hand to secure his victory.
The only ace in the hole he had was that no one in Arendelle knew exactly what he could do.
Mary knew the most and she only had a fraction of the information available to her when she learned under the alchemist. Wrath hadn't even seen him use his abilities to their fullest but their encounter years ago gave the demon a descriptive picture even though the two of them never fought. Sobel portrayed himself as someone who just knew a great many things, while this was true, he kept his true self hidden because it would come handy when things got really desperate.
His hope was that he could use Elsa to fight his battles for him as he tried to protect his family. With Rahim being alive, he had a chance to do so but it required preparation and that he stayed where he was and not be in danger of being evicted. So when he was faced with the question of how he knew so much, he decided to only tell half of the truth.
"You are correct, Talib never had any siblings. In fact, he never really grew up to begin with..." Anna's face morphed into one of complete confusion as Ahimoth just raised an eyebrow.
"...You see the man that you knew in Blackdust wasn't the real Talib, just a body double to accomplish certain tasks. In fact there are even more of them besides me and him. We all look exactly the same, talk the same, and even act the same. The only difference between us would be how each of us think. Each one of us had different experiences that fundamentally changed us in one way or another. For the Talib in Blackdust, he was completely indifferent to the slaughter that went on around him, as long as he had materials that could be used to continue his research, as such is why you probably wondered why I talked to you like a person instead of a research subject. For me, I had lost a family and couldn't reconcile with my failure which made me relocate to a peaceful kingdom. However, one thing we all have in common was that at one time, we were with Father for a long time."
The two royals remained quiet as they looked at the man in front of them with a new expression. The redhead had a pitying expression on her face as her mind was stuck on the fact that he lost his family and couldn't get over it. It reminded her of her own grief when her parents died and pulled on her heart strings. Ahimoth on the other hand, had a suspicious look in his eyes as he considered that the man talking to them wasn't who he said he was. According to Garret, each Talib was essentially the same as one another besides in how they thought. It wouldn't be too difficult for one to switch places with another and just play the part.
Which meant there was no guarantee that Sobel was really a heartbroken father that lost his family or if he was just another body double just playing on their sympathies.
The man in question could easily gleam the Prince's thoughts and couldn't really blame the man. It was only natural. The truth he told would garner him suspicion but it would also gather him a stable foundation the more they thought about it. While it was true they couldn't really prove who he was, he still was their most expedient way of getting the information that they needed. Even if they felt he was lying, them cross examining the information he gave them would take time, time he could use to ready his plan to free his son.
To be honest, it did disgust him that he was reading them so easily and turning their own thought processes to suit his needs, it made him feel like that bastard who caused him so much pain. Regardless, the information he gave them would prove very useful in the future and even if they didn't succeed, he had the best chance of making his family whole again.
"What task did Father send you here for then?"
Garret gazed at Anna who still had the same expression on her face but could understand that he was here for a reason. "The Talib assigned to Arendelle was sent here to investigate a possible emergence of an Ice Elemental, document their progress, and determine if they were a threat or not. When I relocated to Arendelle, I did so in hopes of escaping Father. I felt that simply running and hiding wouldn't be enough so I decided to fake my death and replace the Talib that was assigned here. My hope was that an Ice Elemental could be the key to assuring my freedom, this is why I helped the late King when he came to see me."
"Dad asked you for help with Elsa?"
Judging by the disbelieving look on the redhead's face, he guessed that she was questioning how her father really felt toward her sister.
"Yes, King Agnarr sought me out in the hopes of dealing with your sister's growing abilities. Naturally he felt that he couldn't keep both his daughter and his kingdom's safe so he decided to get another opinion on the situation. I told him that I could contain her abilities if the need arose which he agreed to but soon abandoned that line of thought early on and wished to have her learn to control her abilities with his limited understanding. He wanted to believe in his daughter, as any father should."
Anna looked relieved to hear that her dad chose to believe in Elsa instead of fearing her. Ahimoth though, still looked unconvinced.
"Her Highness asked what was your task, not what the others were."
Garret sent the Prince an exhausted look but nonetheless opened his mouth to speak. "I'm a special case, Father originally wrote me off as a failure and found no use in me when he was in a particularly difficult time period of his life. He had other things to worry about and felt that even with what I knew that I was no threat. It wasn't until I met him again after I had Shahbaz did he finally have a use for me."
"And that use was?"
Sobel's eyes finally became obscured by the reflection of his glasses as he answered in an expressionless tone.
"To give him new life, by taking mine."
The way he spoke left a lead weight in the Princess's stomach who could tell that him saying the words were painful. That if he didn't hide his eyes or keep his voice void of emotion, he'd be on the ground weeping.
"Is...that how you lost your family?"
Anna didn't want to ask but she needed to know. The man looked at her with his face doing everything in its power to keep her from reading his thoughts. If she were to freeze this moment in time, she would think the man in front of her had no soul for being so cold but when he spoke, she could hear the crack in his voice that showed the agony that he kept hidden inside.
"Yes."
With that simple word, the redhead's heart went out to the man. She wanted to believe him, what he told them today was plenty of reasons why anyone would want revenge on this Father person but she also couldn't dismiss the idea that he was lying. He even admitted that the other Talibs were all essentially the same and he replaced the one that was sent here. How easy would it be for him to actually be the one who was originally sent here and just came up with this story to play on their sympathies. They couldn't truly know for certain.
His story made sense except for one thing.
Elsa had told her about the accident that resulted in her memories being altered. Her parents had gone to the trolls for help which they did. If he already had them helping, why did her father need to go to someone else for help? It was entirely possible that the trolls had no idea how to control Elsa's abilities but Grand Pabbie always seemed to have an answer for everything and gave her sister the key hint of 'Love will thaw'. That key phrase helped Elsa control her powers, if the trolls knew that then what did Garret know that they didn't?
While she didn't get every answer that she wanted, she got enough to occupy her mind. The man seemed cooperative enough to answer more questions she had but she wanted to go over the ones he already answered. The redhead remembered that an assistant was assigned to deal with Elsa's guest and thought the next thing she should do was speak with that assistant to go over the information that Sobel gave them.
"Thank you for speaking with us. Before we go, you said you wished to convey to Elsa that you didn't seek the confrontation between you and Edward. I can speak with her about that because currently she has a lot on her plate."
The man nodded his head and bowed.
"Before we go though I want to ask two more questions. One, who is the assistant that has been going over the information you've provided us and two, we are aware that he is the one who assaulted you unprovoked, is there a way you can let us handle it on our own terms?"
"The assistant's name is Grace and she said that all the information I've given her has been drafted in reports and sent to the Queen's study for her use. As for Edward…" Garret for a moment, considered pushing for a punishment on Wrath as a form of revenge but put that thought out of his mind. As much as he wanted to see the Sin suffer, he also needed easy access to him and for them to feel that he wasn't a threat. So he had to internally swallow his feelings when he spoke. "...I am fine with letting you deal with it however you see fit. Looking back on it, I can see how me being here would be difficult for him. The Talib that raised Rahim was not kind and I can only imagine the horrors he was subjected to, seeing his tormentor's face now must've made him relive old memories."
Anna looked relieved yet Ahimoth's eyes went down to Sobel's hands which were clenched so hard that blood started to leak from his hands. The Prince could tell that it killed him to say that but understood his situation.
"I will speak with Elsa, is there anything else we can do for you?"
"If it would be possible...I'd like to see my wife and little girl. Just want to let them know that I'm ok in person." Garret's emotionless expression shattered under the mention of his family. His face became one of a devoted father who missed his family and the very thought of them brought him happiness.
"Of course, I will arrange something soon."
Sobel bowed even lower and spoke with genuine sincerity. "Thank you, Your Highness."
Edward had found the ship that the cargo was supposed to be on and could feel that something was off the moment he stepped on board. He got that same sense in the back of his mind that something was wrong. He couldn't really pinpoint where the feeling was coming from but it was ever present. As soon as he walked on the ship, the crew all stared at him. They watched his every move from the moment he stepped on board, walked to the captain's quarters to find out where the cargo was, then went below decks. He checked himself multiple times to see if there was anything odd about him but so far there was nothing.
The looks he got weren't fearful, nor could he feel any anger towards him but they were still intense. The young man considered asking why they were staring at him but decided against it as he came to do a job. The hull of the ship was quite large and spacious, likely due to transferring cargo. The crew had already packed up and moved most of the other crates but left the only one that was not on the manifest.
The young man walked up to the crate and noted that it wasn't a very large crate, just big enough to require two hands instead of one so he could fit through the door while holding it. The documents were secured to it rather crudely by a small knife. Edward tugged the small weapon to free the parchment without damaging it then flipped through the pages. All the documentation was there, just needed to be inspected then approved by the proper authority. As he was flipping through the pages, he noticed an inventory sheet that listed the contents of the cargo.
Mr. Jorgen had said that he would personally inspect the cargo and that the young man was not to open the crate. Edward questioned why he couldn't just inspect it and save the man some time but put it out of his mind. He skimmed over the inventory sheet and noticed that it said that it was black sand from some island in the northwest. The young man briefly asked who in their right mind would ship sand, maybe the inventory sheet was wrong and the ship was smuggling something inside the sand. It made sense as to why Mr. Jorgen wanted to personally inspect after all the other cargo was already transferred.
Putting those thoughts aside, Edward had a job to complete. Folding the parchment and putting it into his pocket as he placed the knife on top of the crate, he bent down and lifted the crate with ease. His fingers grasped the bottom and he had to angle his neck to see over the crate but he was soon oriented correctly and walked out of the hull of the ship and onto the deck. The crew still stared at him which he ignored then walked off the ship toward the warehouse. He passed some familiar dock workers who greeted him on his way until he made it to his destination.
Balancing the crate in one hand, he dug into his pocket and pulled out a key that the receptionist in the main office gave him for the warehouse. Producing a silver key, he placed it in the lock and turned causing the latch to open with an echo. Removing the lock with the key still inside, he shouldered open the door and walked inside then used his foot to close it behind him. The warehouse was of course empty save the numerous crates that flooded the first floor of the building. The second floor had an office that tracked what was currently in the warehouse.
Remembering his instructions, Edward brought the crate to the second floor office and put it down then started to fill out the inventory paperwork on the warehouse side. It was a quick process that he had mastered in his time working for the harbormaster. Unfortunately to complete said paperwork, he needed to know the exact contents on the crate and inspect it. The young man knew that no cargo was to be stored in here without it being properly catalogued as it had actually been a law that the late King had established to cut down on smuggling operations in Arendelle. If he wanted to get this stored then Mr. Jorgen would have to come down here and inspect it.
How easy it would be if I just inspected it.
Edward kept thinking that over and over but remembered the harbormaster's words. He said to not open the crate and that he would inspect it when he had time. Huffing at the crate, the young man decided to quickly run over to the main office and have the older man inspect it now so that he could store it and the paperwork could be correctly filled out since he had to drop off the documents anyway.
Leaving the crate in the office then walking out the warehouse and locking the doors again, he quickly made his way to the main office. He walked past the receptionist who noticed which way he went and called out to him to stop.
"Edward, are you looking for Mr. Jorgen?"
At the sound of his name, he turned around to face the brunette woman who called out to him. She had healthy skin that was lightly tanned from sunlight and was wearing a white collared shirt with a dark blue vest on top of it. Her short hair framed her face and stopped at her neck and her green eyes were locked on to him. She was a pretty girl he supposed, he'd only spoken to her a handful of times since he usually worked during the nighttime and she worked the day shift. He briefly searched his mind and remembered that her name was Estrid.
"Yes I am, I need him to inspect some cargo so I can store it and fill out the paperwork for it."
The woman looked surprised as she remembered handing him the key for the warehouse because she assumed the cargo he needed to store was already inspected. "Why don't you inspect it, last time I checked you were deemed trustworthy enough to do so."
He shrugged before answering. "Mr. Jorgen said he wanted to do it personally and at the time he was speaking to the Captain of the Royal Guard. I was hoping that by the time I brought the cargo in the warehouse, they would be finished and I could get it stored and everything updated in case of a guard inventory of all of the cargo."
Estrid's face morphed into a grimace when he finished speaking that made the young man narrow his eyes a bit. "That might be a problem. Mr. Jorgen stepped out and said that he had some business to take care of that will last him until tomorrow."
Edward mentally groaned when he heard that. If the harbormaster was gone then he wouldn't be able to get the cargo stored and the paperwork filled out. Someone new might suggest that they could just keep the cargo in the office until the next day and not tell anyone but Edward knew that the guards conducted random inventory checks to ensure that there was no smuggling in Arendelle to enforce the late King's law. If tonight happened to be one of those nights and the cargo they found in the office WAS a cover to smuggle something then Mr. Jorgen would be blamed for it.
Which meant that if the harbormaster was gone until tomorrow then Edward needed to inspect the contents himself.
The young man thanked Estrid and walked back to the warehouse and unlocked the door. He went up the stairs and back into the office where he left the crate. Sending a quick prayer that the older man wouldn't be too upset, Edward used his claws to wedge his fingers in the sides and ripped the lid off being careful to keep it intact. As he did so, a piece of wood splintered off and stabbed itself into his right hand. The splinter was quite thick about an inch tall and a couple times larger than a strand of straw. Compared to everything he felt in life, the pain was barely an annoyance, it was just the feeling of something being pushed into his hand and moving that really gave it away that he was injured.
Letting go of the lid with his injured hand, he placed it to the side and pulled the splinter out. The wound it left was so small that he didn't even worry about healing it, the black dust inside his body already worked on the small wound but it went very slowly as he already forgot about it all together. While this happened, he looked inside the crate and saw just what was described on the inventory.
Black sand.
The young man took a longer look and considered maybe he was looking at a crate full of black dust but waved the idea off as he couldn't sense anything in the crate. The foreboding feeling he had earlier hadn't disappeared but it hadn't grown stronger with his close proximity to the crate. Waving it off, he thought about just closing it back up as it just seemed to be full of sand but the paranoid part of him thought that maybe there was something inside the sand because as far as he knew, there was no reason for anyone to ship sand.
Being the professional he was and trying to keep any fallback from landing on the kind Mr. Jorgan, Edward dipped his right hand inside the crate so he could look for any objects inside. As his right hand plunged into the sand, he felt around for any objects hidden within.
What he didn't feel at first was some of the grains of sand going into his wound and for some of his black dust to come in contact with it. The small particles meshed together before creating a line that went into his hand up arm all the way until it connected with the stone in his body. When that link was finally established, that was when he felt something.
A sudden wave of nauseousness hit washed over him and he placed a hand on his head to steady himself before closing his eyes and waiting for it to settle. It didn't take long and when he finally opened his eyes Edward's eyes widened.
He wasn't in the warehouse anymore, he was in the main hall of an unfamiliar building. The hall had an infinite amount of books that were on shelves that lined the great hall. The floor and bookshelves were completely wooden and as far as he could tell there weren't any cracks in any of the wood anywhere. He turned his gaze down the hallway and noticed that there were stairs that led to the second floor that was visible from the ground floor because of the balcony that formed a railing on the second floor.
He could see even more bookshelves on that floor and then another set of stairs that led to the same scenery on the third floor. The young man decided to look straight up and could see that the ceiling was quite far away and had a window on top that showed only white light. He then turned around looking for a door that was an exit and could see that there was a wall behind him where a door should be located in a normal building.
Seeing that there was no obvious exit did worry him a bit but he still didn't feel like he was exactly in danger. In fact the feeling he had earlier had completely disappeared and he was in a state of complete tranquility and peace. His mind kept telling him that he was in an unfamiliar place and that that on its own was a troubling aspect but his entire soul just felt peaceful.
So peaceful infact, that he was really considering just picking up a book and lounge around and read. The desire became stronger and stronger as he walked to a bookshelf and just as he was about to grab a random book a clawed hand grabbed his shoulder.
"Snap out of it, Edward."
The young man heard his own voice behind him and turned to see Wrath staring down at him. Seeing the predator again cleared his mind and blew away his early desire. All at once he remembered he was in the warehouse before touching that black sand and ending up here. He wanted to facepalm, of course it was black dust, who in the right mind would ship sand?! He should've known better than to touch it.
"Yeah, thanks. Do you know where we are?"
Wrath shook his head as he let go of the young man's shoulder and the two of them reexamined their surroundings again. The two of them walked around the ground floor looking for an exit of some kind but to no avail. As they looked around they quickly realized that they were the only ones here and when they thought that perhaps they were in Wrath's soul and they could just leave, the two tried their hardest on focusing on waking up in the physical world but nothing happened.
Finally they came to the conclusion that they could really only do one thing.
The two of them looked at the stairs that led to the second floor and started walking up the stairs. Upon arriving on the second floor they once again searched every inch of the place only to find no exits or any other people. They then went on to the third floor and repeated the process until they went up the stairs again and again and again.
It was beginning to become tedious just going up stairs and finding nothing, on the seventh floor though they found a bridge that went across the building to another hall of books that somewhat broke up the tired repetition of their actions. Edward was beginning to lose his patience while Wrath remained quiet and kept moving forward, every so often glancing at books they passed.
This went on for what seemed like hours until Wrath stopped the two on a bridge going across the building again and pointed up. Edward looked up and could see the ceiling wasn't too far away and they could now see what was beyond the glass. The 'sky' was completely white, someone might say cloudy but the young man couldn't see any signs of the clouds overlapping, it was just a white blanket in the sky.
"It's the same…'
Edward almost missed Wrath whispering but he caught it and turned to the Sin who was still transfixed on the sky.
"What's the same?"
"The sky, it's the same as that place you pulled me out of."
The young man instantly knew what the predator was talking about and his face went pale. They couldn't be where he thought they were. The earlier feeling of peace he had came to mind and made his heart race. Wrath didn't talk about the other side of the Hell he experienced but somehow, Edward could just tell the feeling was the same. If they were really in the 'Heaven' that he had to pull the predator out of then he couldn't help but ask, who was going to pull them out.
The more he thought about it, the more he came to the same conclusion.
"Wrath we got to get the fuck out of here."
The predator had an eeriely calm aura about him that Edward hoped that the place's strange allure didn't get to him and the young man had to lightly hit the Sin with a back hand to his chest to get his attention. The predator blinked a few times and shook his head as if he just broke away from the trance that the young man was in when they first got here.
"Yes, you are right. The longer we stay here, the harder it'll be to fight off the effects."
The two continued searching for an exit and going up stairs until finally they arrived at a bridge where there was a single door at the other end of it. The ceiling was so close now that Wrath could raise his arm and jump a few feet and could touch the glass. The ceiling as it turns out was rounded with the edge ending just at the door. Physically speaking, the door should lead to the outside based on the design of the building but something told the two that the exit wasn't that door.
They both knew though that they searched every inch of this building and found nothing so they had no choice. Walking to the door, Wrath grasped the handle and pulled it open allowing Edward to go in first before going in behind him and closing the door.
The room they arrived in was more like a personal study if anything. There were still books, some tables with parchment strewn around on it and at the end of the study was a large desk with a human skeleton on a stand next to it. That wasn't what caught their attention, what caught their attention was the fact there was someone sitting behind the desk reading a book.
The man had pale white skin that looked to haven't seen the sun in years, long brown hair that was brushed back completely and hung behind his ears and just above the collar of his black suit jacket. His white collared shirt peeked out of the jacket with a black tie going into a black vest. He hadn't noticed the two and was continually reading a book then would pick up a writing utensil, write something down, look at the skeleton then go back to his book.
The sight reminded Edward of a school teacher or doctor looking over some notes. Back of his mind he could see Talib doing the same thing but he repressed those thoughts. He finally found someone else who was here, hopefully they knew of a way out. As he stepped forward, he noticed that Wrath was glued to where he was standing. His mouth was open and even though his face was always in a perpetual fanged grin, it looked like he was slack jawed at something.
Before he could ask what was wrong, the man behind the desk spoke.
"Well if it isn't Wrath. How have you been my child? Have you nothing to say to your Father?"
Wow I suck, its been two weeks since my last update and honestly I was hoping this chapter would be further along but stuff happened. Plus before any of you ask, no this isn't the chapter I was super excited to write, I mean this one is important but there's an even more fun chapter I was hoping to write later. I've been playing Assassin's Creed Valhalla and trying to finish it while working and taking an odd job here and there for some money. I hope you all enjoyed this little plot twist. Hope you all look forward to Father's first appearance in this fanfic after 60 CHAPTERS. So many questions are about to be answered and there will be even MORE questions, i'm so evil. Please review or pm me if you wish to contact me. I would prefer a pm as I can respond to that quicker but if you review I will appreciate it more and I will likely respond with the next chapter update. Have a nice one.