The Devil's Tear

Chapter 47- Gathering

            Rosy fingered her dark hair, sighing at its roughness. As she walked across the maroon-carpeted, royal bedroom, she stared at her shriveled feet in disgust. All her worries and difficulties were taking their toll on her young body. She met her own eyes in the oval mirror hanging on the back of the door, and almost cringed.

            Her once rosy skin was tanned, her hazel eyes fatigued and droopy, and her once full cheeks had receded. Rosy’s eyes stung at her own ugliness, as she believed, and she bit her lip to restrain a sob.

            The door opened, almost knocking her over, and successfully distracting her. To her surprise, it was Alexei. His sky blue eyes twinkled with joy as he bent down and leveled himself with Rosy.

            Rosy clenched her fists at his flawlessness. His skin was unblemished and pure, and his golden hair appeared silkier than ever. Even so, her happiness to see him was uncontainable, and she rushed into his arms.

            “What’s wrong?” He whispered after a moment of kissing her cheeks and forehead. Rosy blinked; had he noticed?

            “Nothing,” Rosy almost stuttered. Alexei’s fingers played with her dark hair, and she could see the love in his eyes as if it were a fluorescent, blinking light.

            “You’re beautiful, Rosy,” he bent over to whisper, “Remember that, okay?”

            Tears welled up in the little girl’s eyes, and she flung her arms around the god-like man’s head. “Alexei…”

            Alexei laughed quietly, embracing the young girl with fervour. His own eyes filled with unwanted tears, which he blinked away before Rosy could notice.

            “Is Mama back?” Rosy inquired in a hopeful voice. Her face fell at Alexei’s apologetic response. Where could Arisa be? She knew that her mother was safe, because if something had happened to her, Artemis and Demetri would be alerted. Just as she the thought had crossed her mind, Alexei’s forehead crumpled.

            “What’s wrong?” Rosy asked in distress.

            “Raised energy levels,” Alexei frowned, “Let’s go see.”

            He grabbed Rosy by the hand, and led her down the hallways as if he had the path memorized.

            -

            Losse cursed loudly when the invisible barrier barricading the palace struck him. He almost smirked; his aura was Queen Vesta’s idea of truly ‘malevolent’. Arisa and Allegra turned to see him convulsing painfully on his feet.

            “Losse?” Allegra held his arm supportively. Losse breathed heavily; the barrier was indeed powerful.

            Queen Vesta appeared at the exquisite entrance of the palace. Her eyes met Losse’s with shock and astonishment. “Losse… Armont?”

            “Queen Vesta,” Losse managed to whisper, flashing a troubling smirk. Vesta’s senses were numbed with surprise, and she almost didn’t notice when Losse lunged forward with a thick blade in his sleeve.

            “You… why are you here?” Vesta dodged the attack. Arisa and Allegra exchanged distressed glances before dashing to either of Losse’s sides.

            “I’m here,” Losse coughed, falling to his knees, “On your side.”

            Understanding flashed across Vesta’s features, and she laughed weakly. “An Armont fell in love with a Lyte. Fate… works in mysterious ways.”

           Vesta held a tall- almost her height- marble staff in her right hand, and pointed its orbed edge straight at Losse’s head. “Why did you attack?”

            Losse shrugged painfully, and when he raised his head, amusement was clear in his shimmering jade eyes. “I don’t know. It… was an automatic reaction to seeing you, Queen Vesta.”

            “Where are your Ellery minions?” Vesta demanded, and still held the green staff in its previous position. Confusion appeared, replaced by even more amusement on Losse’s perfectly shaped face.

            “They’ll appear soon,” Losse regained his strength, and stood without the aid of Allegra or Arisa. Vesta finally released her rigid stance, and the staff degenerated. Losse’s eyes widened, and he fell to his knees.

            Moments later, the entrance revealed the elegant figure of Queen Fortuna, with her wavy dark hair acting as an adornment to her natural grace. She smiled, pleased, at Losse’s respect, but asked him to rise.

            “This is quite a surprise,” Fortuna grinned. “Please, come in, all of you.”

            Vesta, without a word, passed Fortuna and vanished into the palace. Allegra, Arisa, and Losse followed closely behind Fortuna, who led them silently.

            “Losse Armont,” Fortuna’s powerful voice echoed in the spacey hall, “You and the Ellery… are you not our enemies?”

            “Not if you don’t want us to be,” Losse responded, almost cockily. Fortuna raised an eyebrow, amused at his changed demeanor.

            “You think,” Losse’s voice was quiet, and his eyes grew a shade darker, “That the Armont and Ellery hold a long-standing grudge against the Lyte for sacrificing our kin to seal the devil?”

            Fortuna’s footsteps stopped echoing, and she turned around, almost in fear. Losse’s smirk was not reassuring, but his choice to aid Rosy seemed genuine. However, Fortuna wondered about his reliability.

            She arrived to the conclusion that she would not trust him fully until he proved himself worthy.

            -

            The brilliant and raging flames hissed, almost as if water had been sprayed over them. The figure on the shadowy black throne convulsed slightly as if he’d been jolted by electricity. His smirk grew wider.

            The crack in the molten ground elongated instantaneously, causing him to laugh loudly. The Devil’s laugh reverberated throughout his flaming, evil dominion, and Queens Beatrice and Fortuna shuddered in response. His laugh had traveled to the surface world, shaking the palace on its foundations.

            And of course, Rosy laughed along with him.

            All his pawns had gathered in their destined place to fight, and to die.