"Welcome to Lucem Villa." Lager's voice whispers in my ear.
I open my eyes only to shut them swiftly, the sudden light blinding to my eyesight which has been weakened by the dark Shadow Travel.
Lager chuckles, before slowly pulling away from me, still keeping a gentle but firm and steadying hand on my arm, which I'm grateful for.
"It'll take a second." He continues. "Is everyone accounted for?"
"Present and waiting for orders!" I hear Max yell while I'm battling to squint and adjust my eyes.
"I'm here....and what is Ashley doing to her face?" Comes Becky's voice from a small distance away.
I huff, finally opening my eyes all the way, and feel my mouth drop open.
"Why are we in a temple? Did we travel to Greece?" I gasp, looking around at the huge structure we stand in.
Made up of beautiful white stone, the ceiling stretches high above, unique designs etched into the roof. Pillars surround us, showing a view of the midday blue sky which seems to stretch forever with no clouds in sight.
"You mean Greece as the fat that comes from cooking meat?" Max asks, drawing my attention back to them, who stand a two yards away, their bags abandoned on the ground.
"No, it's a place....oh never mind." I say, waving my hand. "Where are we?"
"If my Shadow Travel worked correctly, we should be in the Lucem Villa reception hall."Lager murmurs, looking around. "But something's strange. I expected there to be at least an attendant or two here to greet us. Where are the Lightlings?"
"Knowing Max, maybe somewhere off partying, drinking, and scratching their monkey behinds." Becky says sarcastically, earning a sheepish smile from Max.
Lager lets out a chuckle, but instantly stops when he sees mine and Max's glare. Iturn my narrowed gaze to Becky, who only shrugs.
"What? I'm half Lightling, which gives me a right to say it." She says.
I sigh, taking another second to gaze around the temple.
"Should we go look around? Maybe they just aren't aware of our presence." I say.
Seeing how that's the best option for us so far, everyone starts to gather their stuff and pick up their bags.
That's when I hear the echo of footsteps on the marble floor, and we all whirl to face the entrance of the temple, where a boy and a girl around our age stand.
Both of them are wearing long, flowing white robes, almost making them blend in with the temple. The person to the right, the boy, has golden hair like Max's, but where Max's is curly, this his is subdued. To go with the hair are sharp features, his expression a mask of indifference as he studies us. But it's not his hair or features that I'm staring at. It's his eyes.
An orange the color of fox fur surrounds the black pupil, the color so bold it distracts from anything else.
My eyes eventually tear myself away from the boy's interesting eyes to wander over to the girl, who has the same brunette color hair as me, but where I'm pale, she appears to be nicely tanned to the point where I'm jealous. I peer at her eyes, excited to see what color they are, and I am not disappointed.
A violet purple that's vibrant enough to maybe even beat the boy's color who stands beside her. I'm still staring at her eyes when suddenly the girl locks gazes with me, a corner of her mouth turning up in a small smile.
I'm about to smile back when I hear a hum beside me and I turn to see Lager looking at me with a small frown on his face.
"What's wrong?" I ask quietly.
"You never payed this much attention to my eyes." He mutters, his frown deepening.
I roll my eyes, turning back to face the newcomers.
If only he knew....
I clear my thoughts, giving my head a slight shake and it Lager. Cnstead watching as Max takes a step forward, his eyes widening.
Quickly, he bows his head, and I feel a wave of deja vu as I recall how Becky acted the exact same way when we I first met Lager. Could these two people be connected to the High Commander?
"Maximus." The boy speaks first, his chin slightly lifted as he seems to gaze down at Max from a distance. "So you've returned." He says distastefully.
The girl sharply elbows him, her eyes narrowing, before she turns back to Max with a smile.
"You can raise your head, Max. We're not mad at you. I'm just glad to see you're safe." She says sweetly, and I instantly take a liking to the girl over the boy.
Max sheepishly raises his head, and that's when I remember how Max came to be a part of our group. After single-handedly destroying two merchant ships in one of his tricks, his father banished him from Lucen Villa for three months. This is his first time returning since then, and I'm surprised I didn't notice how awkward it might be for him.
Max clears his throat, gesturing with his arm to us. "I have brought friends from Highclere. Let me introduce-".
"Oh we know all about them." The boy cuts in, waving his hand. "The High Commander, the Halfling, and the Human. You've brought quite the interesting group."
I glare at the boy, opening my mouth to cut in, but Lager beats me to it.
"When mentioning me and my companions, I would ask that you address us with a little more respect." Lager says, his words pleasant, but the tone of them ominous.
The fox-eyed boy slowly nods, seeming upset to be put in his place. I almost feel like laughing.
"Ugh, I am so sorry for his....our rudeness. It's been a few minutes and we still have not made any introductions. I am Iris, a niece of our High Commander Lady." The girl speaks in a sweet voice, giving an apologetic smile.
Bells start to go off in my head, and I remember the mission and what I was sent here to do. Observe the High Commander's relatives, and find out if one of them is behind the High Commander's sickness in the goal to get the title of High Commander.
I'll have to keep my eye on Iris, I remind myself, but although I've only just met her, I can't see her having any ill intentions at all. Still, just in case...
"This incompetent person beside me," Iris continues, earning a glare the said person, "Is my cousin and also nephew of the High Commander, Cato."
"Pleasure to meet you." Cato says, and you can tell just by his tone how it's not really a pleasure at all.
So he's another one I have to keep my eye on. How many others are there?
"This is my.....friend, Beck-". Max starts to say, gesturing to Becky, when suddenly she cuts him off.
"Rebekka." She gives a challenging glare to the two Lightlings.
Meanwhile Max and I are staring at her in shock, while Lager looks as if it's nothing new. So that's her real name. I'm quite shocked, and kind of hurt, that this is my first time hearing of it. By the tiny frown on Max's face, I can tell he's feeling the same way.
Iris smiles. "Nice to meet you, Rebekka." Then she turns to Lager.
"And we already know who you are, High Commander of the Darklings. It's an honor to have you with us."
He nods his head at her, smiling politely. Finally they all turn to me.
"I'm Ashley......a friend?" The statement comes out more of a question and I wince.
Cato uninterested gaze suddenly turns slightly suspicious as he stares at me, but Iris just smiles.
"Although we have no doubt Maximus could give you an amazing tour, we were sent here by The High Commander Lady herself to direct you there. If you would, please follow us." With that Iris turns on her heel and exits back the way she came, the way she walks more of a glide.
Cato stays behind for a second longer, casting each of us one last wary gaze, before turning and following after her.
"Oh Thank Core, I thought they'd never leave." Max moans suddenly, seeming to visibly deflate.
"They seemed to know you pretty well, Max." I point out the obvious, wanting him to elaborate.
"Yes, my father would often visit the High Commander's home when I was little to trade and such, and seeing how we were all about the same age, our parents thought to put us together. Cato, that arrogant jerk, and I never really got along though." Max growls at the end, before looking back at the temple entrance as if he might appear.
"I can see why." I mutter, before hefting my bag up. "I guess we should follow them now though. Better to meet the High Commander now rather than later."
I start to walk towards the entrance, only for my bag to get caught on something that causes my form to be yanked back. I turn to see it's actually Lager's hand that's holding onto my bag, and he snatches it out of my grip, throwing it over his shoulder with a wink in my direction before moving to pick up some of Max's huge looking luggage.
"Won't that be too heavy?" I question warily as he bends to pick it up.
"Oh please, he's the Darkling High Commander." Becky scoffs. "Ten of Max's bags won't be too heavy for him."
Lager lifts the bags seemingly effortlessly, and I guess I worried for nothing. I turn around to start walking towards the entrance, worried that Iris and Cato may be getting impatient, when a sound catches my ear's attention. It sounded almost like a strained huff.
I turn my head to study Lager, who starts walking past me with the bags, his strides even and constant, like nothing's wrong, but then I notice something. The more he nears, and the closer I look, I realize that little details are seemingly off about him.
For one, he's paler than usual, and also for a man who never sweats in Highclere, the hottest place on Dalton, he sure seems to have much perspiration now. Along with these things, now that I think about it, he was pretty silent the whole time Cato and Iris were here, only speaking when Cato started acting snobby.
Is he not fully recovered from the sickness? The one I still have no idea about.
Maybe I should take my bag back...but would he let me?
Lager notices my eyes on him, and gives me one of his easy-going smiles. "Want me to carry you too?"
"As if." I roll my eyes, but in my head I'm silently vowing to keep a better eye on him.
"C'mon slow pokes, keep it moving." Becky mutters as she walks past us, her bag thrown over her shoulder.
Lager and I smile at each other, before I shrug and start walking, exiting past a pillar and out into sunshine.
The view I get was not what i was expecting at all. Level ground and the jungle surround us, and I feel my eyebrows scrunch in confusion.
"Wait, isn't Lucem Villa supposed to be on a Mountain? And where exactly is Lucem Villa? There's only jungle-".
I'm cut off by Becky, who put her hand on my shoulder and turns me around, and then lifts my chin up.
Above us stretches a tall mountain, the temple we were just in at the base of it. From where we are standing there's a path, that leads towards the Mountain and starts winding around it, up and up. Along the path are more building made from marble and white stone, most of them looking like or having the same design as the temple structure we were just in.
At the very peak of the Mountain lays one of the structures that's far larger than the rest, sitting miles above from where we are now.
"Don't tell me...." I say lowly, filled with awe but also dread as something begins to dawn on me.
"Yep." Becky says, her tone seeming to say 'kill me'.
"If you can see up there," Iris says, appearing in front of us and pointing to the large structure at the very top of the mountain I was looking at before, "That is the High Commander's Villa, where she awaiting all of you."
Becky and I give each other side glances.
"Well I'll see you all at the top." Lager suddenly says beside us, and I whirl to face him just as he melts into shadow and disappears.
Ugh that little....he just left us! Then again, it didn't look like he was feeling that well in the first place, and he did take my bag, so I guess I can't really blame him. I sigh, giving one last pitiful look at the mountain, before starting on the path where Iris and Cato are now walking, already anticipating the horrible trek ahead of me.
"No wonder all you Dalton-dwellers are so toned." I mutter to Becky as she walks beside me, Max cheerfully trotting a few steps ahead.
"Not all of us." She mutters back, seeming to hate this just as much as I do.
"We're at a disadvantage. " I groan. "The Lightlings can just transform into birds and fly, we're stuck like this...unless...." I trail off, looking at Becky and wondering if maybe she can shift since she's a Halfling.
"No, unfortunately, I can't shift. All I inherited from my mother's Lightling side was the power to blast people with those cool light orb thingies you saw a while ago." She sighs, and I sigh as well.
Together, as a miserable pair, Becky and I make our way up the path and to the awaiting High Commander.
Dear readers, soooo not the best chapter ever, I apologize because it's a little short compared tot he length I've been recently writing, but I wanted to get a chapter to you all as soon as possible. You have just met two new characters, who Ashley seems to have to keep her eye on as the mission calls for it. It may be too early for any theories now, but if you do have some, go ahead and say them, but I won't be able to confirm no deny any of them.Max seems pretty happy though, since he's back in his forte. I wonder if maybe he might take Becky on a romantic sightseeing tour ;). You go Max, we're all cheering you on.As for Lager, what's up with him? and what business does he have with the Lightling High Commander? Hope you enjoyed! Vote, comment, and try using a bath bomb (I always get them as presents for Christmas and stuff, but never use them because I prefer showering) If you've already tried one, then try one again. Lots of Love,
Dangeroustoken
P.S. Thanks so much for your patience with the random and chaotic updates.