To alleviate the tension that was caused by Faust being released from the dungeon he was required to wear special handcuffs until they had left the Kingdom. Every being in the Kingdom showed up to see them off from all walks of life and social standing. Some showed signs of rage as they looked at their party, such as the council members while others showed sadness that their princes were once again leaving them.
Morgianna watched their surroundings a bad feeling stirring in her gut as the time of their departure grew near. Something was going to happen, she just did not know what or when.
'Keep your guard up.' She mind linked Fafnir and the rest of her group, not excluding Faust. If something was going to happen it would likely involve him and she did not want him to be caught off guard.
Each of her group gave a barely perceivable nod in agreement, keeping their faces void of any emotions that they may be feeling tense. Fergus and Finian stood on one side of Queen Eingana while Morgianna and her group stood on the other waiting to hear the Queen's farewell speech before they left.
Queen Eingana raised a hand to silence the chatter that was resounding through the square. After several minutes the square became silent, all eyes focused on the Queen and what she was about to say. "As you all know Sora is dead, the pain and suffering that we suffered under her came to an end thanks to This brave group of people."
A scream broke the peace as all hell broke loose. Morgianna tried to catch a glimpse of what had caused the widespread panic but there were too many bodies in the way. Queen Eingana tried unsuccessfully to calm everyone but it was to no avail. As the square began to clear Morgianna caught one person calmly standing to the side, a smirk playing on her lips as she watched everyone run around frantically. Councilwoman Salzar looked at everyone as if they were ants beneath her shoes, a play for her own personal enjoyment. At that moment she looked up and her eyes met Morgianna's. All enjoyment fell from the woman's face, instead replaced by hate. Salzar stepped forward letting her body be pulled into the crowd and disappeared.
That uneasy feeling in Morgianna's gut grew. The look in Councilwoman Salazar's eyes was of someone who had nothing left to lose. Almost everyone who had gathered to see them off had fled, leaving the Royal family and Morgianna's group with just a few guards and random citizens milling about looking lost.
"Your majesty, something is wrong. We should return to the castle until we are sure of what caused the panic." A nearby guard spoke up as he walked in front of the queen. Suddenly his eyes bulged and a dribble of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth as he fell to his knees. An arrow had been buried deep into the man's back just as he had walked in front of them. Either the assailant was hoping to get rid of a low ranking guard, or the Royal Family had been the true target and the man had been at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Morgianna and her group, along with Fergus and Finian fanned out creating a circle around a still handcuffed Faust and the Queen. Scanning their surroundings sharp eyes. Clapping sounded from a nearby alley and slowly Salzar walked out. A smile on her face despite the situation. "Give us the traitor and we will let you all go with your lives. The Royal Family will get off with losing their crown, but not their lives, and everyone will live happily ever after." She had a crazed look in her eyes as she constantly glanced at Faust as if he were the main course and she was a starving person.
"This is madness, we will not hand him over to the likes of you. You have no power here." Fergus was barely holding in his rage, his whole body shaking.
"No power you say?" Several people stepped out from the shadows around them, their appearances were not that of bandits, but they were obviously not from the dragon kingdom. "This group here is to change that."
A burly man that could only be described as a mountain stepped forward his face scrunched into a frown. "Its nothing personal, but we were promised a dragon hide and bones if we came." All the men around him cheered, their eyes shining with greed.
Morgianna wanted to be sick. Not only had Councilwoman Salzar contacted a group to help her, but she also promised them that upon the job being completed they could have Faust to do with whatever their hearts desired. Which in this case was the skin him and use his bones for weapons. "Morgianna, take my mother and Faust and transport them away from here." Fafnir was staring at Salazar as if he could not wait to rip her smile from her face.
"I'm sorry but I have to insist that the little lady stays here." A voice spoke from behind them causing everyone to curse. Morgianna had not even felt a presence behind her yet cool steel pressed against her neck.
She did not know how skilled the man was, but she had many years of martial arts at her disposal and refused to have a blade pressed against her by a coward that hides. Pressing her backside to him to destabilize him she grabbed his arm and flipped him over her shoulder bringing his own knife to his throat. The man she found herself looking down on was handsome for sure but in a cocky pretty-boy way. She rarely used her god's eye to look at people as they either were unimportant or did not live long enough to matter but for some reason she wanted to know who this group was.
Name: Philip Niles #14
Age: 20
Race: Elf
Titles: Leader of the Hawks an Ex-assassin group made up of those who escaped the lost Boys
Powers/abilities: Earth, Wind, and portal
Morgianna was thrown off by him being able to Portal as until that moment she thought it was something that only those with darkness could do. "Philip Niles, I do not know why your group would choose to take that hags job, but I promise you that you do not want to fight against us." There were a few gasps when she called him by name, predominately from his group.
Philip was staring from his place on the ground a look that was a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. "That is not my name." His blatant lie made Morgianna want to roll her eyes.
"Philip Niles, aged 20, you are an Elf and Also the leader of The Hawks. Shall I continue? I can tell you the name of every person in this square right now." She looked him straight into the eyes causing the older boy to swallow his next retort. "You obviously came here for a reason. Endangering the lives of your group would not be something you would do recklessly unless you had to. Tell me, are you running from the lost boys perhaps?"
At her words Philips tensed even further his breathing becoming shallow and shaky. "H-how do you know about them?"
Every person present had their eyes glued to them waiting for her next words. "Because I am a friend of two who are no longer part of that group. They were number 6 and 7 years ago." Almost instantaneously Philip's body relaxed and a bright smile formed on his face.
"Boys, she knows Sophia and Mathew! Are they alright? Could you tell them I miss them, they were like older siblings to most of us, making sure we did not die in those early years." It was as if he forgot where they were and what they had been doing up until a moment ago.
Councilwoman Salzar watched the whole thing happen with her mouth gaped open wide. "What are you all doing! I paid you to come here and get rid of him for me!" She was screaming and pointing her finger at Faust as if he were a pile of rubbish that had just been dumped on her kitchen table during a meal. Spittle was flying from her mouth as she stomped her foot throwing a tantrum.
Queen Eingana walked calmly to the screaming woman who cowered under the formers gaze and slapped her across the face. "You brought unknown people into our kingdom with the intent to kill my son. The oath you took to always defend every citizen of our kingdom so casually thrown away the moment you are not getting your way. You do not deserve to be on the council and from this day forth you are removed from your post. You hold NO power here."
Salazar fell to her knees tears streaming down her face. "It just is not fair. Because of your son my husband is dead and I am all alone, yet he will walk free as if everything he had done did not happen!"
Even the men she hired were looking at her as if she had lost her mind. "He is not going free as if nothing happened, he is joining me in making this world better if only a little at a time. He will work every day, training in his free time in the hopes we can take just one more person like Sora down. He may never be able to fix his past mistakes, but you need to realize that he was also a victim, someone used against his will in a plot that hurt his family too. He lost two brothers and father." Morgianna stood tall and proud, looking down at Salazar with pity in her eyes.
She looked back down to Philip who stared back in awe at the strength she exerted. "If I let you up, you are not to try to kill anyone in this Kingdom. Take your group and leave, never to return here." He nodded his head allowing her to help him stand.
"Could I at least know your name?" Morgianna questioned herself if telling him her real name would be a smart thing to do, but she felt that his group would not carelessly tell others.
Taking a step back so that she could properly curtsy Morgianna performed the action in an elegant manner. "My name is Morgianna Bloodmoon and it is a pleasure to meet you Philip Niles. I hope to meet again one day, without you pointing a blade at my neck." She offered him a little smile as he walked back down to his group. She meant what she said about meeting him again one day. She felt that in the future their paths would cross again.
"I won't let this be the end! He has to pay!" Salazar who had fallen silent after being slapped sprung to her feat slashing her claws out towards the Queen. Caught unprepared Eingana tried to throw her arms up to block but the hit never reached her. Still handcuffed Faust stood in front of his mother, Salazar's claws sunk deep into his back. His face pale as blood seeped into his shirt around the sound. Salazar looked pleased as she flexed her claws causing him to scream out in pain.
Her victory was short-lived as a gust of wind sent her careening backward into a stone wall. Morgianna stepped slowly towards the woman allowing the pressure to push her into the ground but did not kill her. "You should have stopped and I would have let you live. You have shown that you are without remorse for your actions. As a princess of this kingdom on the grounds that you tried to attack the Queen and harmed another I sentence you to the Death, you wished upon others. Philip, it seems you did not waste this trip after all. This dragon will be the one you can take with you."
Salazar's eyes opened wide in fear. She wanted to scream and beg for forgiveness but the words were stolen by the wind. The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was Morgianna looking at her with no pity left in her eyes.
Morgianna felt guilt for giving Salazar to Philip and his crew knowing what they were going to do with her, but after all the chances they had given the woman she still focused only on revenge. If she was not taken care of now she would become more of a problem later. "Make sure she is taken care of properly." She called over her shoulder to Philip as she walked to where Faust laid on the ground breathing heavily. "We have not even been in a pact for a week yet you are already trying to leave me." Her eyes softened and she patted his head. "Not to worry though, I won't let that happen. I will have you fixed up in a jiffy." She pressed her hands on his wounds causing him to gasp in pain before letting her light heal his wounds.
After several moments the wounds had closed up leaving his skin unmarred but still covered in blood. "A woman scorned is a dangerous woman. Shall we postpone our departure for tomorrow?" She looked around at her gathered group and sighed in relief. Luckily they had gotten by with minor injuries occurring. The man who had first been shot by an arrow had been taken to the infirmary, the arrow having been coated by a toxin the knock him out.
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Word count: 2298
Once again Morgianna crosses paths with people who are former members of the lost boys. They too will play a part in the future, but what? Keep reading to find out. :)
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