ANCHOR V

“Which one?”

“Huh?”

His journey to the fortress city of Lucaria had been one without incident. It was a quiet one. Much too quiet. The only thing of note was perhaps, Francis. A priest of the Sect of Celeste; no wonder, Pleiades had been disgusted at him for cooperating with a member of the Sect.

He would, no doubt, have preferred someone belonging to the Church of the Sun.

And, perhaps, Pleiades might have been correct. Their guide had been behaving much too suspiciously. Not to mention, he had been feeling chills crawl up his spine, ever since he stepped foot into this city. A bad omen.

“Which Queen?” Charles’ thoughts were interrupted by the man's albeit sudden question. So, he was one of those priests. How fortunate!

“Be careful, your sarcasm might bleed out of your thoughts into your words,” Pleiades intoned, his voice full of wisdom. However, he knew that the man found naught but amusement at his predicament.

“Whichever one, allows me to live my life in peace,” Charles shrugged. The priest, however, did not seem to appreciate his words. His words had clearly soured the man's mood.

“You would allow, someone as deplorable as the Queen of Winter to reign? If it meant, you could waste away your life?”

“Yes. I believe, my previous words had stated my exact thoughts. As long, as I get to live the rest of my days in peace. Any Queen could reign and I would give little to no fucks about it,”

The priest clicked his tongue and turned his face. He continued to whisper insults under his breath which were no doubt, directed at him.

“I still, stand by my previous words. A man from the Church of the Sun, would have been much more pleasant,” Charles shook his head at Pleiades' words. They were true, yes, but pointless. The mistake had been made. It was not as if, he could rid himself of the man; even if he wanted to, he could not. “We could. It would be a simple procedure. Simply, run your sword through his jugular,” He pointedly ignored his words. It was a way but a way, which he wished to be left unused.

Not to mention, committing murder in a city under control by the Queen of Blood, which was additionally a crater city, as well? It would be a certain death sentence. That is, if he was fortunate.

“Pickpockets, run amok here. Be on guard, unless you want your belongings to be swindled,” The priest informed him as they entered the city center. He nodded in response.

Certainly, the only thing of worth that the man had spoken till now.

The bazaar at the city plaza was bustling with life. Calls of the vendors, shouts of scuffle amongst drunkards, loud voices of bargaining, dominated the entire bazaar. A discordant harmony of noise. A sweet yet powerful smell of perfumes, scents and spices, enveloped his nostrils. He could spot people from all walks of life, mingling amongst one another.

It was like a vivid painting of life, itself.

Yet, through all this orderly chaos, a certain sweet scent engulfed his nose. His nose welcomed it as lovingly as he embraced Elena. For, it was the scent of Elena's perfume. He made a mental note to return to the bazaar. Elena would certainly appreciate the gift. Especially after the sweet passionate kiss that they shared; the memory still sent shivers of pleasure throughout his body.

He could still recall, vividly, the taste of her lips.

He snapped himself out of his reverie. He could seldom afford being lost in his fantasies. There would be time for his fantasizing later on, however, right now? He had to focus on digging information about his sister. He could not afford to lose her.

The priest led him through the bazaar, the crowd losing its harmonious chaos and size as they went further and further away from the central plaza. The noises soon faded out, replaced by a serene silence; occasionally broken by the melodious chirping of birds.

“Wait!” The priest suddenly halted, startling Charles, and pushed him into an alleyway alongside himself.

“The fuc-” His words remained incomplete as the priest's hand covered his mouth.

“Shhh! Shut your mouth, if you wish to live!” The priest whispered furiously as he dragged him into another, much smaller, alley.

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Charles was tempted to slice open the priest's neck then and there, however, he refrained to do so; his bloody thoughts being interrupted by the sounds of rhythmic marching. He removed the priest's hand from his mouth and peeked out of the corner of the alley. The sight made his eyes widen.

Dressed in their standard, blood red and raven black colored, steel plated armor; the Legionnaires of the Queen of Blood marched through the street. Cold fear gripped his heart. To think, without the priest, he would have run right into the Legionnaires. He could feel mockery and disappointment arise from his bond with Pleiades. He suppressed their bond. He could not deal with the man's scolding. Not now.

Nonetheless, he scolded himself. He should have known that, with the war, the troops would have regular military drills.

He wanted to slap himself for this stupidity. No, he did not. That was Pleiades' wishes, not his.

“Now, do you see? Why, I had to drag, you here? God knows! how Fraulein Liliana thinks you are a bloody knight! The only thing, you are fit for is–” Charles slapped his hand on the priest's mouth and slammed him onto the wall.

“Listen and listen well, you fucker. I have had enough of your prattling,” The priest struggled to escape his hold, Charles tightened his hold in response. The priest's brown eyes were filled with fear and he continued in a harsh tone, “You dare open that bloody mouth of yours, ever again. I, will tear open your mouth!”

With that, Charles removed his hand and dropped the priest to the ground. “Do you understand?” He asked and the man nodded meekly before leading him out of the alley.

The rest of the walk was as uneventful as his journey to the city. And, not to mention, it was much more silent and subdued. Sweet peace. If only, he could have done it sooner. It would have certainly reduced much of his headaches.

The priest still spoke. Charles suspected that the man had a death wish. Regardless, for a change, he spoke only when it was necessary. Or, if he was spoken to; which was never.

The priest soon stopped in front of a garden. “Fraulein Liliana, awaits you, in the garden,” the priest informed him and took his leave. Neither man was inclined to bid farewell to each other.

Uncivilized mongrels, Pleiades thought to himself and sneered. He had expected such an uncouth behavior from the priest of the Sect but not Charles. He shook his in disappointment. Not at Charles but at himself. He should have expected the lack of basic manners from both. Charles had been a believer of Celeste afterall. And, in many ways, still was.

With Pleiades' thoughts being a mystery to him, Charles walked through the lush garden. Flowers of all colors and scents surrounded him. Birds sang melodiously from their nests, unbeknownst to the war that ravaged the world. Mayhaps, unbeknownst was not the right word. A better one would be uncaring.

Afterall, why should creatures, destined to live perpetually in freedom, care about the suffering of mankind?

Charles slowed as his nose picked up a familiar smell. A sweet and tangy scent. Suddenly, his eyes were covered by two extremely delicate and soft hands.

“Guess who~?” A voice asked him playfully.

Charles smirked, “Your perfume gave you away, as always, Liliana,” No sooner did the words leave his mouth than he turned around and picked up Liliana in his arms.

He twirled her around, all the while, she laughed in glee and begged him to stop; when he did stop, both of them were out of breath and laughing like drunkards.

“Oh! It had been, such a long time, Charles. I had, missed you terribly!” Liliana, suddenly, hugged him and burrowed her face into his neck. Her words stung his heart. It had been, a long long time. Longer than he had realized.

“I am sorry, Liliana. I had simply lacked the time to visit you, with everything that has happened in these few weeks. Elena, the shit that happened with Luthor, among other things, had simply drained both me and my time,” Charles hugged her back. In response to his words, her hold on him tightened.

“I did not realize, that one needed to make time, to catch up with their childhood friends, nowadays. Another thing that I need to catch up with, eh?”

Charles did not dignify her with a response. Instead, tightening his hold on her.

They remained locked in their embrace of understanding and affection. An affection which was layered beneath the understanding and support amongst them.

It was, Liliana who broke the embrace; stepping out of his warmth to set Charles on his quest to find his sister. No doubt, both his sister and his lady-love yearned to have him back. What was her love worth, in the face of such an overwhelming opponent? Nothing. The answer was and still is, nothing.

“The information regarding my sister. Do you have it?” His question broke Liliana out of her love stricken mind. She responded, “In a manner of speaking, yes.”

“What, is that supposed to mean?”

“I do not have it, in my direct possession, that is. However, I know, where it is,” Knowing his inevitable question, Liliana beckoned him to follow and walked up to the edge of the garden.

The garden’s edge was located directly over the cliff face which faced the massive crater. Charles opened his mouth but Liliana put her finger over his lips and shushed him.

She bent over the fence overlooking the crater and spoke, “There is your target,” and with her words, she pointed towards the center of the crater.

Charles looked out towards the place where she had been pointing. His breath hitched in shock and in part fear, as he gazed at the structure….

For, located within the crater, was a humongous and sprawling stronghold. The very heart of Lucaria’s military garrison.