Chapter 6: A Pleasant Conversation

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The stone blurred at the edges of her vision as she sped down the corridors. Footsteps and voices seemed to accompany her at every step, all just seconds behind. Every flicker of torchlight seemed to betray the presence of guards ready to jump out at her at a moment’s notice. Anything and everything was going to catch her and kill her.

So, when a body fell down the stairs leading to the battlements, Robin flinched with such ferocity that she ended up stumbling onto her elbows. The bloodied soldier from before, now caught up, took the opportunity to grab the cuff of her shirt and drag her to her feet.

“Who the hell are you?” He leveled his shortsword to her neck. “What was a kid doing in Commander Malo’s room?”

She did not answer, opting instead to hope that her unfocused stare would mask her remaining hand grasping for the dagger at her waist. The force of smacking into the wall left her coordination in a shoddy state, so her hand fumbled for the dagger’s handle for a painful, precious second. He sneered and pressed the shortsword against the skin, and for a moment, she was convinced she had been found out.

But her gamble paid off. She managed to get a grip on the handle, and with a fluid motion, plunged the dagger into the man’s neck.

Whether it was the adrenaline or the fact that he could’ve very well killed her, she did not feel much as he clutched the wound, helpless to stop his crimson blood gushing through the cracks between his fingers. His eyes did not even drift to his killer in his final moments; he stared at the floor, mouth agape, as if in shock at the situation, before finally falling to the floor.

The ape from before took the morbid opportunity to shamble towards Robin and the dead man, holding Robin’s detached hand as if it were a gift.

‘Really? Now you do something?’

Instead, she shook her head at the creature. Holding her hand to let it reattach would only be a hindrance right now — the top priority was delivering the necklace to Galim.

Stepping carefully around the dead soldier and the pooling blood around him, she made her way to the area she had originally come from, careful to hide behind doorways whenever she heard a noise.

The ape creature lumbered behind her wherever she went, stopping outside of doors it couldn’t fit through and trying to squeeze in wherever it could. She finally got a break from its suffocatingly large presence when she stopped inside a spacious storage room filled with barrels, making sure to close the door behind the ape.

The smell of oil was strong in this room. Pristine torches and a few swords on racks remained in the room, illuminated dimly by the light creeping through the gaps in the plank door.

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The moment of respite allowed her to ruminate. She killed a man in cold blood. Like before.

‘They’re not real.’

The other man was, though.

Her ideation was broken by the sound of plated greaves ringing against the stone floor outside in the stone hallway. These seemed… purposeful. Confident.

And they stopped right outside of the room she was in.

Before she knew it, an older woman clad in dull metal armor was in front of her, the backlighting disguising her features. No opening of the door, not a sound or step until she had arrived.

“A kid? Interesting.” The woman’s voice was hoarse, yet, despite that, conveyed a sort of suave tone that made her feel immediately likable. “Say, how long have you been working for the resistance?”

‘Why isn’t she trying to kill me?’

“I… a year?” Robin’s eyes darted around the room.

“I see.” She took a step closer, reaching out a gauntleted hand towards Robin. She flinched back into the barrels.

“Relax. I’m not going to kill you. Not yet, at least. It looks like you managed to grab the artifact. You’re too useful to get rid of if you managed to do that.” She gently grabbed the necklace around Robin’s neck. “Also, I’d recommend not grabbing that dagger if you want to live.”

She cursed under her breath, her hand sliding away from the dagger. Best to stall for time.

“Don’t you have a battle to fight?”

“My soldiers have all but won. My support is no longer necessary.”

“How did you know I was in here?”

“That placid ape stepped in the blood of my messenger and left a convenient trail right to you. I don’t suppose you’d happen to know who killed him, do you?”

She recalled the sensation of the blade sinking into the man’s flesh, the blank stare as his blood poured out…

Her face must’ve given it away, because the older woman waved her hand afterwards. “Don’t look at me like that. I bet he tried to kill you, so it’s only fair you saved yourself. It’s a shame, though, that a kid like you would have to get blood on their hands so early, and for nothing.”

“For nothing? But I thought you wouldn’t kill me!”

“No, no.” She shook her head. “That wasn’t a threat. The necklace is useless as a weapon of war. I had a double agent spread that lie to your leader. It’s a relic from who knows where that subjugates dormant Nightmare Creatures, and you risked your life and killed for it under that lie.”

A scream of agony cut off the response on Robin’s tongue. Immediately, the woman turned around, her shortsword drawn in quite literally an instant.

Robin didn’t get the chance to ponder what her Aspect was, because, just then, Galim, his greatsword alight with flame, kicked the door open.

His eyes briefly scanned the woman before locking onto Robin. His face contorted in sheer, unadulterated rage.

“You fucking traitorous rat!”