ANCHOR VI
“How, do you plan on getting the information? You got any plans, yet?”
“None.”
Liliana paused. A comical sight, hand frozen while untangling the knots in her hair as she brushed them with the other hand, her mouth stuck in a visage of disbelief.
She, truly, ought to remove any misconceptions regarding him; he had never been one for extensive planning.
Plans, after all, were and will be, the recipe for disaster.
His and Liliana’s parents had planned a betrothal for the two of them. And, look how that turned out. His family, gone. The two of them? Practically estranged.
“A poor comparison, fool. The circumstances were different. Nay, practically everything was different,” Pleiades interjected. The old man could never grasp actual logic; far too deluded was he, in his own machinations, that he failed to see the plots against him.
“None?! No plans, at all?!” Liliana shrieked in shock.
Charles grimaced at the tone, “Last, I checked, that is precisely, what none meant,”
Placing her face in her hands, she sighed, “Will, you be serious, this once? Please?”
He sighed and spoke, “I am serious, Liliana. I have no plans, because, I do not require one,”
Liliana turned her chair, to face him, directly. He could clearly see the unimpressed look in her blue eyes. She spoke, “Huh, that so? Then, would you mind enlightening me, as to how, you shall get to the fortress?”
“That is, quite easy, actually,” He shrugged, Liliana raised an eyebrow, demanding him to explain, and he obliged, “Out of the 5 crater cities, I have been to 3, with each of them, having an extremely similar layout. With the differences being relatively minimal, nothing that would cause trouble,”
“Oh, and how do you plan to enter the military district, itself? I, for one, doubt that the garrisons and level of security would remain uniform throughout all the cities,”
He smiled sheepishly, “Well, I am still working on a plan, regarding that,” He took a pause, “Actually, I might, have a plan.”
“Uh huh? Well, mind informing me, about your plan?”
“It is a simple one, well, for now. It depends on you, actually-”
“Depends on me? How?”
“I was, getting to that part,”
“Oh! Then, please, continue,” He shot her a glare for her interruption. The woman, merely smirked at him, no doubt, thoroughly amused.
“As, I was, going to say, before you interrupted me, the plan depends on you, sneaking me into the district,” Liliana exhaled, shaking her head. Regardless, he continued, “Considering, your father holds a pretty nice office in the Queen's army, you could enter the district in a carriage. A carriage which would be carrying–”
“Me and you. Yes?”
He blinked, “Yes.. yes, obviously,”
Liliana went silent and began brushing her hair. She was, certainly, weighing the pros and cons of the offer, of the plan. Her and Elena, had always been better planners than him. And, most likely, will continue to be.
“You place, much trust in them. More than, what one should be comfortable with,” He scoffed mentally at Pleiades words, and spoke, “You need not worry about this, old man. Things, have changed. Changed for the better, since your time. Not everyone is out for eachothers throats, any longer,”
Pleiades hummed mockingly, “You say that, yet, you do not believe in it. Your words are empty, devoid of belief. Do not be blind in your trust, boy. Blind faith was and will always, be detrimental,” Pleiades paused, allowing his words to sink in before continuing, “Not to mention, you are forgetting about us- about this connection. Were, this information to be made common knowledge, you would find naught but foes in even your, greatest allies.”
His statement being made, Pleiades severed their connection. Unbothered, or rather more accurately, unconcerned by his incoming reaction.
The soft tapping of Liliana's brush against her dresser, snapped him back to reality. Liliana shook her head in disappointment, her eyes, however, shone with amusement and equal parts, fondness. “You have cultivated quite the habit, Charles, losing yourself in your mind, so often. Not something, you should be cultivating, with such a passion,”
“I am working on it, Liliana, losing habits such as these, ain't exactly a cake walk, you know?” He shook his head, “Besides, this is hardly of any concern, right now. What is of concern, however, is if you are going to help me, get into that fortress of doom?”
“Yes,”
“Yes?”
“Yes, Charles, of course, I shall, help you get in there. It's the least, I can do for you, Amor vitae meae,” Her last words were barely whispers, lost to the air, like leaves on an autumn evening.
She did not know, why had she uttered them, perhaps, as a last resort? Perhaps, as a way of admitting defeat? Perhaps, to show her weakness to him? Or, maybe, it was all these reasons and then more. Alas, she did not know and, doubted she would until it was already, far too late.
“Let them through!”
A grating roar followed the command, the sound of the massive portcullis being lifted from its rest. To him, the noise embodied the roar of a beast, a beast which hungered to swallow him whole. And, here he was, delivering himself to this ravenous beast.
A nudge, a light knock, an offer of embrace and his eyes snapped up. A pair of fiery golden specks of light glared at him, through the window of the carriage. The nudge disappeared. The fiery specks dominated his vision, whole. The nudging returned, though, now it was more hostile, more unwelcoming, more demanding. From light knocking to an incessant banging. His mind faltered.
“Down! Now!” His head moved involuntarily, burying itself in Liliana's lap. The woman turned red, a fierce blush covering her whole, but did not bother, reprimanding him. She was taught to take advantage of any and all opportunities, and thus, she would do so.
Only a fool, shall look into the mouth of a gift horse.
Her fingers threaded lightly through Charles silvery, yet in some places brown, hair. His head nuzzled comfortably in her embrace, unconsciously. Yet to her, it felt deliberate.
Meanwhile, Charles was experiencing the antithesis of Liliana's current feelings of nirvana. In short, he was in a cesspit of shit.
“Do you, even have a semblance of an idea, of what you have just fucking done?! Do you?!” Pleiades ranted, each word fueling his long dormant rage, “You, have no fucking clue, bastard. Not a bloody clue!”
“Obviously, I fucking do not! You speak, as if you bothered to inform me of, what the fuck just happened!”
“If you hadn't been busy chasing skirts, your entire bloody life, you would have had an idea, but, alas you were. So, here we, fucking, are!” Pleiades took a sudden pause. An oppressive silence reigned for but a moment, before he sighed in resignation. “That was a Cardinal. I trust, you know, this much?”
“Of course, I do,”
“A Cardinal can read you, peer into your mind, poke at your soul, until you give in and open yourself like a book. A dangerous servant, in the hands of the right kind of ruler, which unfortunately for us, is Ishtar,”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Every cardinal can do that?”
“As far as I know, yes. But, I am unsure. I, never paid much attention to the details regarding them, nevertheless, we are fucked. Get that information and run, lest you become Ishtar's dinner.”
Pleiades retreated back into the depth of his mind, satisfied by the scolding and the miniscule dose of information that he had imparted.
Although, his words painted a bleak picture, Charles could not help but snort in amusement. Turns out, for all his ravings about Charles being a poor listener, Pleiades, himself, was quite similar. A feeling of indignation and their connection severed.
The god in his head, seemed to remain steadfast in being completely self-absorbed. Fabulous, truly.
Perhaps, God had blessed him, much too much in his previous life and sought to balance it out, this time.
The soft fingers lightly massaging his head, brought him back to reality. With each moment, he felt de-stressed, problems that weighed heavily being forgotten, nightmares which haunted him being replaced by sweet memories.
Her warmth, bade him to return her embrace, bade him to forget his loyalty to Elena, bade him to commit a sin, bade him to indulge. A nudge, and the warmth disappeared.
His eyes snapped open. Disentangling himself from Liliana's embrace, he adjusted himself on his seat opposite to her, and busied himself observing the sights outside. Liliana looked alarmed, shocked, and disappointed? But prominent amongst it all, were her eyes, which looked warm, welcoming, loving, yet, cold, unwelcoming, hostile; however, not to him, no, those feelings were for something or someone, that was not him. He could feel it.
Every so often, he would glance at her, each time, he would be rewarded by the same sight. Fists clenched in her lap, face down, staring perpetually into her lap. Every so often, a tremor would rack her form. Unnoticeable, unless, one looked carefully.
He wished to comfort her, to embrace her, to provide her with warmth and to share in her warmth. A nudge and all such thoughts, would be banished.
The carriage came to a halt. Liliana broke out of her reverie, without making eye contact with him, opened the window and poked her head out.
A moment later, it retreated back in. With a sigh, she spoke, “A procession of some sort. We have to wait until it passes,”
A procession? Here? Curious. Perhaps, the death of a distinguished officer in the army? Likely, but not important enough to demand a procession. He shook his head. Now, was hardly the time. He would have, ample time later to ponder about its cause.
“Ah, Shit,” He sighed, “I guess, this is, where we parts ways then,” He added, unsatisfied by his farewell, “For the time being,”
Liliana reacted, entirely opposite to what he had expected, “I understand. Meet me back at the garden?”
“Definitely,” A nod and Charles left the carriage, entering the adjacent alleyway swiftly. Waiting, would have made, both him and Liliana, sitting ducks for the Cardinals. If, Pleiades was right, which he probably was, then there was a chance that the Cardinals already knew of his presence here.
Abandoning the comfort of the carriage, was a small price to pay, to ensure his safety. And, more importantly, the safety of Liliana. He could never forgive himself, if his foolishness cost him, her life.
Although, it was curious, as to why she did not question him about his sudden departure. For, as far as she knew, the only entry, for him, into the fortress was using her carriage. Food for thought.
His feet, soon came to a stop. His search, completed. In front of him, was a golden grate, big enough to fit a crouched man inside. The small depiction of the Ayla branded on the grate, proved its identity.
Each crater-city’s military district had such grates, meant to be used in case of an emergency. A fail-safe. And, in his case? A ticket to the fortress, itself. A rare boon, resulting from Ishtar's near paranoid regime. A small donation to the Church, might be, in order.
A sharp pain grew in his chest, alongside a burning inferno of anger. Alright, maybe, not a donation. Just a visitation, wouldn't hurt. The pain disappeared and he sighed in relief.
Hands gripping the grate, he pulled. It came out, relatively easily. Easier than its counterparts in the other cities. A sign of oncoming fortune, he hoped.
With optimistic thoughts, he crawled into the shafts leading into the fortress, itself.
“Sir? What shall we do?”
A sigh. “I have, got no clue, Dante, no clue. We could, escalate, but, it'd be a fucking mistake. Not to say, that we can't kick some Anarchist ass, but, it'd extract a much too high of a price,”
The other man, Dante, had a tone of desperation. A rookie, perhaps; only a rookie could crave the futility of an escalation. Although, with Ishtar's regime? He could not be so sure.
Dante implored, once more, “But sir! Everything we do, extracts a price, both great and small. I understand, that this, might extract a higher one than any other, but an escalation such as this, will make Blake and her anarchist horde shit themselves. It'll be our–”
“Enough, Dante. I, wish to here no more of this. You speak much, assume much. If, I ever hear of this, once again, then you'll get yourself an extended leave, of the permanent kind,”
A shuffling and clanking of armor, “Yes sir, I understand.” A bow, no doubt.
“Good, now, dismissed!”
Another shuffling, a bow most likely, and with the sound of a door, the clanking of his armor faded away.
Silence reigned for a few more moments. A screeching noise, of wood being dragged over stone, a clanking and shuffling of armor. The man, and presumably the commander of the garrison, had gotten up. More sounds followed, of a window being opened, of shuffling of paper, of drawers being opened and closed.
Suddenly, there was silence.
Another few moments, with the creaking of a door, the commander had also left the room
Charles waited for a few minutes. His blade was unsheathed, he could take not a single risk.
As, he was pushing open the panel leading into the room, a sudden bang rang out through the room. Retreating back into the dark and damp tunnel, he raised his sword, poised to strike.
An oppressive and tense silence weighed down each and every moment. It was, only after a while, when no sounds followed, that Charles pried open the panel.
The room was empty. He took a deep breath. His mind welcomed the freshness in the air. It had been a short-sighted move, to not account for the damp and humid air that would surely prevail in the tunneling pathways.
Nevertheless, it was, but a small price. Risk is rewarded, complacency is not. A simple yet accurate mantra.
The room was lavishly decorated, yet, it stank of undignified occupants. It's decoration, whether it be the Far-Eastern handmade carpets, whether it be the mahogany furniture, or even the jewel studded ceremonial blade that hung over the desk; everything was disharmonious, in perpetual chaos.
“You expect much, from mere soldiers. It is, war that comes naturally to them, not home making,” He nodded at Pleiades words.
He glanced at the shut window. So, that was the source of the banging, he reasoned. He had heard it, being opened after all. Perhaps, the wind had been a bit too fierce, at that moment.
It was, at this moment, that he noticed something, out of the corner of his eye. His grip on his sword tightened. With a chill traveling up his spine, he walked towards the anomaly.
A simple and unassuming letter, strung onto the room's wall by a dagger. Sheathing his sword, for but a moment, he pulled the dagger and took hold of the letter.
The paper crumpled in his hand, each word fueling his anger and fear.
The individual, or ‘Hunter’ as they claimed in the letter, had done much research into him. Hunter, he would say, knew him as intimately as he knew himself. And, perhaps at certain points, even more than he, himself did. The person, made sure to use this knowledge to make a mockery of him. Taunting him, goading him, slandering him and his family.
A deep sneer formed on his face, as he read Hunter's information regarding his mother, the fuckers thoughts about her. And, how she deserved to die, like a dog.
The bastard ranted and raved about his father, as well, although Charles found it, hard to care about that.
The words, about his mother though? Oh, he was, so going to enjoy skinning the bastard alive!
Last of all, however, he spoke of Elena. He declared her, a liar, a deceiver; he did not give any proof, or reason, to call her a deceiving woman. His words did, however, hauntingly mimic Pleiades' own thoughts regarding her. A suspect then. Unlikely, yes, improbable? No.
“It is an apostle,” In a tone of absolute devastation, Pleiades informed him. Charles paused, “An apostle?”
“Yes, boy, an apostle. The ending words in the letter, read them aloud, will you?”
He obliged the man, and read aloud, “The hunt has begun, my dear Charles. A hunt, that shall be sung of, for millennias to come. The Great Hunter, demands a prey, and this one, shall provide,”
“The Great Hunter, it is their God, their source of power. Congratulations, boy. I did not think, you would have attracted an apostle, this quick. And, to think, all it must've taken, is one mistake with that card–’
Charles pushed down their connection, back into the deepest confines of his conscience.
Fucking hell. He had to get out of this city, fast. He would have to lay low, for a while, hopefully lose this apostle before returning to Elena.
He grimaced at the thought and re-entered the winding tunnels, intent on escaping his hunter.
Unbeknownst to him, the hunter stalked his every move, observed his every action, noted his every reaction, predicted his every thought. The Hunter's silver eyes gleamed in delight, as Charles tucked tail and ran. Ohhh! This shall be, such a delectable hunt~, the Hunter thought in glee, a strange laughter wracking her being.
“Let the hunt, begin~” And thus, the Hunter prowled.