Legend of FIVE: Shadow in the Lake

Saa'vorq

The first guard snapped her head in Rebecca's direction, her glare all the more fierce.

"Silence!" she said. "You shouldn't speak at all. We hold your very life in our hands!"

Rebecca tried to forget that. She fought against trembling.

Rebecca watched the second guard's eyes widen as her glance darted back and forth between Rebecca and the first guard. The second guard placed a cautious hand on her companion's shoulder.

"Mira," said the guard in a quivered voice. "Don't. Remember...the crater...the wasteland."

The guard called Mira kept her rage focused on Rebecca. Rebecca did the same, unwilling to back down.

There was a stalemate, a standstill, a space of tense silence where anything could have happened.

Eventually, the guard named Mira sighed.

"I know," she said. "Yes, I know." Mira stood up and turned toward the cell's door.

Rebecca smirked again. "If you think I'm so dangerous," she said. "Give me a key. I'll get out of here and you'll never see me again."

Mira rolled her eyes. "We wouldn't wish that on the world. Say your daily prayers, vevhi. We'd love to lead you out to the gallows."

The word "gallows" made Rebecca's stomach swirl. She wasn't really sure what they were, but knew they had something to do with the death sentence they wanted to give her.

"Or..." Rebecca saw Mira's lips curl into a mischievous smile from behind the veil. "Back out to the desert. Exile sounds just as nice. No one would bother you. We'd know to avoid the place for a while. It's not like many of us go out there. We've done it before. You wouldn't last, girl."

"If I find out what I did before all this, I could just mess you up."

The threat seemed enough for the guards. They both drew their weapons, pointing them at Rebecca.

She sensed their fear in a way. They had that feeling about them, a feeling Rebecca swore she could touch but couldn't really put into words.

"I won't let a demon child tear through us," Mira vowed. "I'll guarantee your death before anything else—"

"That's enough."

A familiar voice halted everything. Everyone in the cell turned towards a woman standing in the cell's open doorway. She was flanked by two additional guards dressed in the same garb as the first two.

The woman who led them looked different, though Rebecca couldn't make out her features with the shadow that cast itself over her.

"She was provoking problems," Mira quickly said. "Just like you warned. We weren't sure if she was going to do anything—"

"That's no excuse for what you were trying to do."

The woman stepped inside the cell, revealing herself in the light of a torch with a flame that brought the room a slight glow. Her skin was the same as the guards; tanned and sun-kissed.

Her eyes were golden like theirs, but less judging and more calm. She had large lips decorated by silver gloss and sported a pink outfit with pointed crimson shoes.

The woman gestured toward the doorway while keeping her eyes on the guards.

"You can leave now," said the woman. "Both of you. Thank you for feeding the prisoner, doing your duty and showing her how easily bullied some people can be when they're young vevhis."

"You're too gentle on a demon-child Na—"

"I meant you can leave right now."

Mira and the second guard glanced at each other before looking down at Rebecca one last time. Then, they left the cell.