Oath of Steel

25 |Into the Devil's Den|

A shadow of a smile seemed to emerge from the serene visage of their appointed messenger. Who in reply let out a small chuckle laughing with delight at a naive question posed from a young child.

Madame Hellenia opened her arms wide, the emerald folds of her finecrafted gown picked by the wind as the edges of her sleeves carelessly cradled by the last leaves tumbling messily to the ground.

Not a single spruce of disarray, nor bland mockery aimed at them, there was nothing that could betray the innocuous stance she'd given them.

The quacking of the ducks coming from behind the still standing figure of Madame Hellenia seemed to break the chain of silence. The heavy cuffs that'd inconspicuously latched onto their wrists and 'round their necks seemed to mechanically break off the spell, falling off their shackled bodies and freeing them for that looming sense of dismay.

Hector was the first and only one to take a step forward, dusting off his coat while he shoved his hands into the pockets of the latter, his rough hands disappearing and thus devoured by the blackness of the leathered clothing.

Madame Hellenia seemed to be greatly amused by the gesture of the IX Apostle, her smile slowly spreading across her curated dark features.

Her viridian earrings tingled violently as a new gush of the winter wind made the land tremble at its passage, installing a new intentional emotion cutting into their flesh.

For many ignorance could be a bliss, a secure way to not succumb to the truth kept behind. But for few ignorance was the very core of human ideology.

The powerless succumbed to the holders of knowledge, forcing them into a world destined to be sacrificed as pawns in a game full of double-edge truths.

Truth was never one sided, there never could and never would have been a single truth towering above all. Just like a broken mirror, with each shard containing a diverse truth, each shard full of its very own secrets and lies.

A cobweb of illusions, truths and deceptions all seamed together to craft an appearance of linearity, of false order.

Madame Hellenia had become a holder of knowledge, and all other mere worms ready to be used in a fishing expedition as bait for success.

Closing the distance, Grey now stood beside the Seeker's messenger. Hands resting behind his back. He kept looking in front of him, trying to spot the mirage of the waters of Noor Lake.

"I thought you'd broken free of their cage, Hellenia," Grey gave her a small smile, nodding his head in greetings, but still did not cross his gaze with hers.

Madame Hellenia made her arms fall once more to their sides, mimicking his greetings before rubbing her hands.

"It seems you've not broken free of our customs yourself," Rosalynde slowly made her hand lower in search of her gun.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Lady Steel." Rosalynde's hand halted midway, freezing as if it'd been bitten by a venomous snake sinking its poison inside her veins. But Rosalynde kept her cool, her smile barely moving an inch.

"How kind of the Seekers to send one of their favorite lackeys to escort us," Grey deviated the argument with his usual innate ability, stressing his vocal cords when pronouncing the word lackey, surely to see what reaction his former comrade would have given him.

And Hellenia did not disappoint his expectations when she inadvertently made her eyes narrow at him, a semblance of that ghostly smile disappearing completely from her face.

Hit and sunk.

"You still think you'll get away with each snarky comment your brilliant mind comes up with, Hector?" Hellenia sardonically in reply, brows raised incredulously.