I've changed the passage of time to dots instead of double space. Have been using it since I started anyways.

Nothing else for now.

Enjoy.

The Spur of the Moment

”BE QUIET GIRL!!” Maldoran rages with his face fuming in anger.

Even his gauntlets’ fastenings almost brakes from his clenching fists. He’s absolutely enraged by Madelyn, to actually hide behind her sister, her sister who she betrays by doing such humiliating acts toward Xe’Reth. “Come here right now Madelyn, and confess your sins! Confess of what you’ve done to Xe’Reth! Of what you’ve threatened him with!”

“I haven’t done anything! Maaalin!” Madelyn screams, hugging tighter around her sister’s waist. She’s at her last straw. She knows that she’s finished, but as long as there’s a tiny chance of Malinda believing her, she must try! “They’re trying to tear us apart! He’s lying! I haven’t done anything! It is Xe’Reth who… who… He tried to violate me in his chamber! He attacked me, tried to take advantage of my… of my innocence…”

“Blasphemous little girl…” Maldoran utters with such disgust in his azure eyes. What is she even spewing? “Have you gone insane?!” He stomps forward, thrusting his pointing plate-covered finger as he defends Xe’Reth, “It was you, Madelyn, who tried to take advantage of Xe’Reth! It was you who slapped him! It was you who threatened to murder his mother if he didn’t go along with your demands! His ill mother Theresa, who experiences her excruciating pains upon her body!”

“Lies! I never did any of that!” Madelyn yells with such a venomous scowl, crawling on her knees to be in front of Malinda so she can witness her sorrowful tears, her mascara running down her face, and the shaking of her whole body. “Sister! He really did try to violat—“

*Smack*

“...Ah... Ah... *Hic*,” Madelyn’s crying becomes worse. Not even her own sister believes her.

Malinda stares down at her with such darkness filling her mind. She slapped her from not uttering another word. It was an unconscious smack to Madelyn’s other cheek, but a weak one. And with desperate hands clutching onto Madelyn’s red palm, Malinda’s eyes becomes even darker with such dilated globes of blue.

“You see, dear sister…? Madelyn has conspired to do horrible acts against Xe’Reth. Acts worthy of prison… But,” Maldoran says, squinting with such downcast eyes at Madelyn, who has let go of Malinda, to sit as quiet and as damaged as she can. Her head tilting forward, her one arm in Malinda’s squeezing clutch, while the other lies limp on the floor. “But as she’s indeed our sister, I will not send her to such a place. Instead, I’ve decided to force her to join our army. To stand and pay for such sins with her body. To slay our Kingdom’s enemies. To train ‘til she changes for the better. I’ll have her cough up blood and puke out her laziness from all the training that she’ll get.”

Malinda doesn’t respond, not even her body can move an inch, she’s only staring down at Madelyn with wrinkling eyebrows. ‘Slapped…? Threatened his mother…? His mother that has the same disease that our parents had…? That… that can’t be true… She would never say something like that… Could she have…?’

She lets go of Madelyn’s arm, making it descend to the floor with a thud. And with her one foot taking a step back, she bends a knee to be levelheaded with Madelyn. She forcefully grips her chin, causing her to wince in pain, for she’s holding it so tight. Raising Madelyn’s head so their eyes meet, Malinda’s mouth shakes from fright.

Might she have actually said those things?

“Aw, it hurts, sister! You have to believe me! Brother is lying!” Madelyn cries as she grabs Malinda’s wrist with both hands to try to make her let go, but she doesn’t. Malinda stares into her sister’s conflicted eyes, yet she evades from gazing back. They whirl around trying to figure out whatever excuse Madelyn can come up with.

Her breath speeds the longer Malinda holds until she finally gets out her lies, “I… I caught Xe’Reth speaking to his mother… he told her that he didn’t love you! He’s just playing with you to get your money! Our family’s money! He’s using you, sister! I caught everything he said! He was even going to rape me after he saw me! Your own sister!”

Plate boots resound behind her, moving too quick to be true, and with hands grabbing Madelyn’s upper arms, Maldoran lifts her up into the air while spinning her around to face him.

Her horrifying cry of terror sounds out into the corridor, “Ahhhh! Ahhh!” as if she’s being murdered. Her pupils have shrunk so much, gawking at Maldoran’s expression of madness. “Let go of me, brother! Let go, you traitor! Let go of me, it hurts! Malinda help! Don’t just look, help me!”

Her legs and arms flailing about, trying to make her brother let go. Hitting him, kicking him, but this time, he shakes with such power, “Do you even listen to yourself, Madelyn?!” The whiplash is excruciating for her neck as it flings her body parts forward, backward, in circles, and side to side as if she’s a ragdoll, weighing absolutely nothing. “How can you lie so easily, and so insanely?! I was there with Xe’Reth! I heard you confess everything! Your love for—“

“Ahhh! Don’t say it! Don’t brother! It’ll destroy us!” Madelyn warns him. Her grimace is beyond damaging with her dark mascara running down her head-shaking face, and her spasming lips that try to tell him of her own suffering. “No, don’t… Pw-Pwease… bwother… dwon’t.” Even a pleading lisp escapes.

Setting her down on her high heels, Maldoran lets go, to turn around to squint at Xe’Reth, “I… I can’t do it, my boy…”

‘All bark but no action, huh?’ Xe’Reth nods to Maldoran with a forced smile.

He walks past them to be next to Malinda, who has fallen to her knees while hunching forward, even staring at her hands as if her whole world has gotten destroyed.

With Xe’Reth beside her, he kneels to get Malinda’s attention by whispering, “Malinda, my beautiful love… I’m sorry… I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you before, but I actually met your sister at her garden while you were away…”

Malinda fists her hands, turning her head to scowl at him, but she lingers with her stare to wait for him to finish before responding, while Madelyn screams in the background to stop any words to be spoken between them. However, Maldoran silences her with a gauntlet covering her mouth. To hold her in check. She tries to fight back with all she can, yet her brother keeps her there so Madelyn can’t interfere any further than she already has.

Maldoran cringes with his furrowing eyebrows at Madelyn’s tenacity, making him also grimace in sorrow. ‘How have I let her become like this… To actually try to betray your sister who loves you. Madelyn, have you fallen so low…?’

“You know what we talked about at the table while eating lunch? About the man Madelyn loves, who chose someone else than her…?” Xe’Reth asks in a louder tone, causing both sisters to gain wide eyes while Maldoran closes his to brace himself for the coming of what will ruin his sisters’ relationship with each other. “That man you so hate for causing your sister such pain… is me. I’m the one who chose another woman. That woman is you, Malinda. Your sister confessed to me even though she knew I already loved you. I declined her yes, also as she said, with such disgust. For she so knowingly wanted me to betray you, that she threatened me to choose between you or her…”

“But before she even managed to threaten me… I had already chosen who I would love with all my heart. You, Malinda, you because,” Xe’Reth switches his attention to Madelyn with a scowl, “because I don’t have an ounce of love for your sister at all. I despise her for she would’ve killed my mother if I didn’t comply with her demands… She would tear us apart without feeling any remorse…” He turns his gaze back to Malinda, who’s covering her ears, shaking her head also to deny the words that Xe’Reth utters.

“She would never do that… Never… Never… M-Madelyn…” she peeks up to witness Madelyn’s poisonous glare, causing Malinda to gape with quivering lips and eyes realizing the truth, the truth behind her lover’s words.

Because of yesterday’s events, she had cried almost as much as when her parents died. But through such sorrow comes now a tide of water sprouting from her tear channels.

Maldoran goes so wide-eyed at her sister’s contortion of eyebrows, eyes, and her whole face.

However, since Maldoran relaxes his hand that covers Madelyn’s mouth, she jerks her head up as she screams, “I would do it! I would kill his whore of a mother without thinking so much as a thought about it! Because I hate you, sister, I want you to suffer as I’ve suffered through my whole life! Always you! You take that which is mine! Xe’Reth is mine, not yours, you bitch! I saw him first, yet you knowingly took him from me! I’ll have you cry… cry until you commit suicide!”

“Mhm-Mm!” Maldoran covers her mouth again, almost as if in a daze. This time, he contorts his expression. What madness has taken hold of his precious younger sister? How could this have happened?

Since Madelyn has her high heels on, elevating her to Maldoran’s height, she bumps her head to smash it into Maldoran’s nose, causing him to groan and stumble backward while letting go of her, which springs Madelyn forward as she leaps at her sister.

“If I can’t have him! You can’t too, betrayer!” she shrieks, ready to dig her trimmed nails to cause damage to her stunned sister’s face. But Xe’Reth snaps into action before she manages to land; he puts his arms around her leaping waist, to swing her toward another direction, yet she latches onto him instead as if she’s a cat with sharp claws.

She bites hard into Xe’Reth’s neck without him reacting fast enough to stop her, digging her teeth into his flesh as blood starts to seep out, which gives way his legs to fall down onto the floor.

Biting harder, her mouth stains itself with scarlet. How in the Divines can she get such strength all of a sudden? Xe’Reth is gawking with eyes of pain as Madelyn continues to feast on his blood, drinking it, gulping it down her throat as Maldoran finally aids Xe’Reth.

He rips her off of him, gazing with wide-eyed horror, for she screams with such fury, screams with a desperation telling him that he must keep her away from any weapons, least of all he must keep up his vigilance at all cost. This is beginning to be too much. Both of his sisters, one screaming, the other sitting with a slumping body, covering her ears from Madelyn’s shriek.

Malinda is crying profusely, her own mascara likewise as Madelyn’s, runs down her face, having the same brand.

But with Xe’Reth’s voice calling out, “Ma-Malinda!” she travels with her eyes to Xe’Reth, who’s bleeding from his neck, and that, that shocks her so much that she screams with shaking hands going to her mouth.

“X-Xe’Reth!!”

She crawls to take him in her embrace. To help push on the gushing wound to stop the bleeding, however, it isn’t enough to cause any damage to Xe’Reth, he’s actually playing his game of being the victim to make Malinda snap, which she does as she whips her head to scowl at Madelyn.

A scowl of death.

“You… how could you do something like this…?” Malinda asks with her upper lip twitching. But she grimaces as the words bombard her mind, words that had been spoken, which she didn’t want to listen to. Though now that her mind is clear, she gazes at her sister with a new found dread gripping at her heart. “Madelyn, you do this… because you want Xe’Reth for yourself…? You love him?”

“Mmm! Mm-Mmm!” Madelyn screams through Maldoran’s gauntlet, her eyebrows have descended so low as if wanting to pierce Malinda with her viperous peer. She still kicks and claws at her brother, but he takes everything with such an unmoving stance, such an unemotional expression, like a statue.

The servants that Malinda had talked to in the changing room has come out to stare in fright at this occasion of madness. Even in the hallway, servants flock to the broken door to peek inside, to witness Malinda’s lover bleeding on the floor; their Mistress tending to him, and the Lord as silent as he can be, holding the madness-infused Madelyn.

“Why didn’t you tell me immediately when you knew?! Is this why you wounded your handmaiden? Is this why you act like this?! Madelyn, why didn't you say anything?! I could’ve fixe—” She interrupts herself, realizing what she’s saying.

Fix what? What can she fix? Give Xe’Reth over to her? No, she will never do that, over her dead body. Xe’Reth is hers, he loves her, not her sister, and she won’t hand him over to anyone, no matter who stands in her way.

It’s her sister’s own fault. All she does is throw out lies.

No wonder Xe’Reth despises her. She actually threatened to kill his mother, took his money at the payment stall… Has she always done that to Xe’Reth…? Every time he had come to get his due? Making him suffer more than he already was?

“Madelyn…” her voice shakes, “I… I don’t… I don’t know you anymore…” She averts her eyes to Xe’Reth, to give him such a lip-trembling grimace. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry for not getting to know you sooner, Xe’Reth. I love you… I won’t let her torment you any further…” Malinda brings him closer to her heart, to put his head on her lap as she tilts forward to cover him from Madelyn’s eye-gawking daggers. She keeps her hand on Xe’Reth’s wound, staining it with blood, blood she experienced yesterday.

Then, with two gasping voices resounding by the shattered double doors, sprinting legs speed up while the sound of steel drawing from sheaths declares behind Maldoran. And with him frowning, feeling the coldness on his neck, he turns slowly to witness two red-haired women.

All servants cover their mouths in shock as one of the women says with pure determination on her tongue, “Remove your hands from our Mistress… Lord Maldoran… or you’ll force our hands…”

“You threaten me…? Have you two gone insane as your Mistress, my sister?” Maldoran asks, lifting his head to taunt them. To give them nothing but his utmost resolute gaze.

“You as well as all of those who’ve pledged their lives to their Mistress or Master knows… we only live to serve. And that doesn’t include obeying someone else than our Mistress… so remove your hands from our—“

This time, a cold sensation prickles on her neck, stopping her voice immediately to turn to gaze at Taryna, who has silently snuck up behind both of the twins, Velyn, and her sister that grinds her teeth at being outdone, not noticing Taryna coming up behind them.

Having done what they’ve done, they know it’s either to be eliminated by their own Mistress or commit. They had quickly chosen the latter. They love Madelyn to death, so sacrificing their lives mean nothing.

The twins themselves were orphaned because of their parents, who lost everything because of a squabble with a family. A noble household that killed their parents and relatives. For the noble’s son who their father trained died at the Ebon Wall. The noble simply sent people to their house, killing both of their parents and relatives by hanging since they were at the moment having a reunion, so the noble took his time to make sure they were all gathered up, while the two twins witnessed their rattling bodies until they stopped moving, all of them.

But that household was soon enough sentenced to prison while stripping him and his family of all possessions. Causing a mass suicide to spread in the noble’s family, yet one child lived, a girl who was brought with the twins since orphanages were zero in that part of Ellenoria.

The twins and the girl were shipped over the sea from the far northwest side of the Kingdom where tropical forests and savannas are. By boat, they reached the central point of the Kingdom while the Priestesses who handled their transfer were worshiped like the Goddesses themselves.

After a year, they were finally able to pick a house that they wanted to serve. Because no child was forced to leave the orphanage if they didn’t want to. The children could either live there until they grew up, or they could choose a different path than becoming initiates of the Divine Queens.

Though, only females were allowed to choose the path of becoming priestesses.

The male children were handled by the eunuchs who worshiped the Queens.

A much more strictness was put on the men because girls are the offspring of the Queens and boys were boys, separated from seeing the girls. And since the central orphanage was a gigantic cathedral on the countryside, no threat to the children could touch them.

A secluded life of schooling if they didn’t choose a house. But the doppelgangers did pick the Tertin household as many others, a servitude with such reputation that rivals all the other Sanctuaries in the Kingdom. But what they loathed in the back of their mind… the noble’s daughter. She also picked the Tertin household. Though she never knew of the happenings between their families. Never knowing why she gained the ire from them, only having the same features – scarlet hair and eyes.

Through the years, the twins picked up the martial prowess and swordsmanship from the part of the Kingdom where they came from. And they excelled with such skill and devotion, which gained the gaze of Madelyn’s mother, Matilda, which earned them the status of Handmaiden. But Madelyn was only a child, sucking on the thumb while being carried around by her mother.

The twins were so devoted to their little Mistress, so much so that they never left her sight, only when it was bedtime, cause they couldn’t possibly intrude on the Madam and the Lord.

They love Madelyn so much, though not in a romantic way since they like men, yet have never had the pleasure of spending their time to relish in such an embrace, and they never will. However, they’ve always wished for Madelyn to find someone, then maybe they could aid her in such activities.

Throwing away their lives for her? It means nothing to them. If their Mistress orders, they obey.

“Sheath your weapons… now!” Taryna commands, gazing with such a scowl. But the twins doesn’t respond, they only keep their slightly curved swords on Maldoran’s neck, while he frowns at them.

To actually go this far to endanger the Lord’s life.

“Back away, Taryna… Or the Lord will… will be killed…” Velyn threatens, shaving off stubbles of newly grown hair from Maldoran’s neck, causing him to growl. “Sister, take Mistress to the side, I’ll handle this.”

She nods, going around Maldoran to remove his hands from Madelyn. As she’s free, she does step away to be closer to the balcony’s doors while Velyn still has her blade on the neck.

“Madelyn, order them to stand down before it’s too late…” Maldoran warns, but he groans because he doesn’t have his sword with him, making Velyn shave off some more hair to keep him still.

“Velyn! Keep him there!” Madelyn shouts; her mouth open so wide that she spits with a pointing hand and a scowling expression of pure hatred. She won’t let Xe’Reth get away with this. At least she can… murder him so Malinda doesn’t get to have him. To make her cry, to make her feel her own aching sorrow. “And you Verelin… you…” She leans to whisper, “Get close to Xe’Reth, and murder him… Also, first go get a knife from the dining table… and give it to me…”

‘Oh-Ho…?’ Xe’Reth raises his scarred brow in fascination.

“Why do you need the knife…?” Verelin whispers too, but a realization causes her eyes to go wide. “No, Madelyn… Mistress, please…! Please, not that!” She falls to her knees, which turns everyone’s stare to them. “I beg of you! Don’t say such things!”

Through the sudden yell from her twin sister, Velyn loses her focus, in turn, snaps Taryna into action; sword going through the guarded hilt to twist it away from Maldoran as Taryna’s arm goes around Velyn’s neck to choke her.

Letting go of her sword, Velyn’s eyes widen as her breath gasps for air, which doesn’t come. Instead, she tries to claw at Taryna’s evading head, until she loses consciousness.

Witnessing her handmaiden’s demise into darkness, Madelyn raises her hand to slap Verelin, “You useless whore! You ruined everything! Everything!! Is this how you repay me for giving you so much!? Ahhh!” She kicks Verelin to the ground as she lies there to willingly take those hits with such relief. “I told you! I told you! I told youuu!!”

With Taryna sprinting toward Madelyn to put her on cold, Verelin springs from the ground, to protect her Mistress with her body and soul. She can’t let a handmaiden hurt her. And as their gaze connect, so does their blades.

For every stroke of power, a parry; for every thrust, a dodge, and for every moment after that, all servants gasp in fright, even Maldoran narrows his eyes to catch their quick movements, and Malinda gains wide eyes as sparks fly everywhere.

Two women of the same age, two women of such battle prowess, yet one exceeds the other. For Taryna is the only one that has been on the battlefield to gain real experience. As for Verelin, she grits her teeth to keep up with Taryna’s wild thrashing sword movements.

Gashes of wounds show on Verelin’s dressed body the further the duel goes, until she finally cascades down on the floor, right next to Madelyn.

“Useless…” Madelyn articulates with a shaking head. Even Malinda’s handmaiden is better than hers. Why does she get everything, yet she gets nothing?!

Verelin has her head turned away, not wanting to connect with those eyes of failure. Her whole body shakes with blood seeping out from the wounds that Taryna gave, but shallow wounds nonetheless.

“I may not know what have happened, but give up Madelyn,” Taryna says, bringing the tip of her sword to Madelyn’s jugular, “You’ve lost… as always…”

Maldoran walks up to be beside Taryna, to push away the sword from his sister, “You’ve done enough, return to your Mistress. I’ll take it from here.”

She gives him a quick nod, then strides with proud steps, but what awaits her is a teary-eyed look of disapproval from Malinda. ‘What…? Did I do something wrong…?’ Though her gaze journeys to Xe’Reth whose wound Malinda presses on. ‘Damn you, you dog… Why did you need to tell the Matriarch… Now I won’t be able to move without being watched…’ She positions on her Mistress’ side to stand vigilant, clutching onto her sheathed sword.

“Madelyn… it is over…” Maldoran says, gazing down at the now weeping Verelin who’s curled up. “I know that you’re in love with Xe’Reth. But it will never bear fruit. You’ve done horrible acts. You threatened his mother with death, you’ve manipulated your sister to just betray her so easily.” He shakes his head, “I can’t let you get away from your sins… You’re an evil woman, Madelyn. But you’re still my sister… and I can’t let anything happen to you. So come with me now, I’m not letting you out of my sight from this day forth. You’ll become a woman of responsibility. Now come, tell that you’re sorry to your sister and to Xe’Reth…”

“Never!” Madelyn screams, backing away from her brother. “She’s the one who betrayed me! She was the one who made me suffer! She stole that which is mine! Xe’Reth belongs to me, not her! Had she spent her time watching Xe’Reth over a span of three years?! No, she did not!” She stomps with her high heel. “She stole him from me! She did it knowingly to make me mad! She’s always the one who betrays me! I only wanted that which is rightfully mine!”

“Madelyn…” Malinda whispers, gazing away. ‘Is it true…? Did I actually steal Xe’Reth from—No! Xe’Reth loves me, he even said it himself! He doesn’t love Madelyn at all, he loves me, not her!’

Even Taryna has widened eyes of disbelief, ‘Madelyn also loves this dog?’ Her eyes travel to Xe’Reth, who gazes as silently as he can. He’s considering if he should interject or just remain there on the floor. ‘Then maybe… Yes… Perfect…’ She gains a veiled grin, hiding behind a downcast mouth to join in with the others.

“Are you completely daft, girl?! He isn’t some possession you can throw around however you like, he’s a human being! You can’t decide if he’s yours, he can choose that himself! And he didn’t pick you, no matter how much you want it to be untrue, it won’t change anything! He’s with Malinda, and that’s that!” Maldoran shouts, walking closer and closer, while Madelyn backs up until she hits the doors to the balcony with her back. “You’ll just have to come to terms with it. Not everyone can get what they want. You need to let go, for Malinda and Xe’Reth is together. And you’ll not ruin their relationship by trying to break them apart, I won’t stand for it!”

“What about me then?!” Madelyn asks, thrusting forth her open-palmed hands to seek answers. “Why! Why do I need to abandon my own love?!”

“Because he doesn’t love you!!” Maldoran howls, shaking his gauntlets in the air at her. “Who in their right mind would love a woman who threatens to murder one’s own family member?! Who?! Nobody would!! You’re nothing but a criminal if you go with such a tactic. A criminal!! No wonder nobody cares about you other than us! Us! What have you given in return?! Betrayal, lies, and threats… You’re not the little sister I know… My Madelyn would never stoop so low as to threaten an ill woman, Xe’Reth’s mother… You… you are a disappointment to mother and father…”

Madelyn’s face contorts, biting her lips as tears start to run down her face again. Bringing in their parents, that, that brings Madelyn to the edge. She covers her face to cry in a sorrowful moan. But her cry turns to laughter, “Hehe… Ha-Hahaha-Haha!”

She laughs while tears just keep on flowing as if she has gone insane. “Ha-Haha, what am I even doing here…?” Her hands pull the handles down, slowly. “You’re right brother… Nobody likes me, nobody wants me… I’m just a pest that’s better off dead, ain’t I…?”

“No Madelyn, we, your family, loves you dearly.”

“Thank you… brother, I love you too” Madelyn smiles, then pushes the doors open as everyone’s eyes go wide.

“Madelyn…?!” Maldoran startles, taking a step forward with a gauntlet stretching out as if to grab her.

She bites her lower blood-covered lip so hard so it bleeds with her own blood, turning around to close her eyes with hands seeking the railing as she runs forward blindly.

Arriving at the balcony’s handrail, Madelyn just vaults over it with her upper body first, exhaling in utter relief. Finally, she can get some rest. Her body falls – prepared to die. She’ll be like her mother, losing her love, then committing suicide. It gives her some assurance at least. But she opens her eyes when no furious air blows on her face, to turn her gaze to the sky, being upside down.

The gasps and screams when she jumped were horrifying to the ear, but since she had no more will to live, she did come to terms with her decision.

She just wanted it to be over, to end this humiliation that she put herself into. Everyone knows of her love, though now as her eyes witness Xe’Reth holding her dangling body midair, he sighs, “Y-You know… Jumping from this height wouldn’t kill you – sure if you landed on your neck it might snap. But you went head first which will make your body spin forward so you land in a rather painful way… Probably breaking a couple of bones…”

Blood spurts from his neck since he’s flexing his muscles, causing him to grind his teeth.

“X-Xe’Reth!” Madelyn cries, then her eyes widen. Her whole lower body is showing. Her slender legs, her firm and perky butt, and the garments; garter that keeps up her black laced stockings, and those panties.

“Such erotic underwear you’re wearing… heh,” Xe’Reth forces a laugh to break the tension from all this hanging. He stares up, shouting, “Pull us up, Maldoran! I have her!” Xe’Reth too is upside down, holding Madelyn’s one leg while the other is straight out, making the view of Madelyn rather steamy. Even his blood stains her private part, seeping into her underwear.

It was a close call.

While everyone was so caught up being stunned, Xe’Reth sprang from his lying position on Malinda’s lap cause he couldn't have Madelyn dying on him – she’s still a useful piece to keep close. After all, she’s in love with him. Though Maldoran was also fast to react since he was so close to her. But he wasn’t quick enough, he missed her. Xe’Reth too almost didn’t manage to grab her ankle.

With a sigh of relief from all three of them, Maldoran heaves them up quickly while Madelyn kicks Xe’Reth so he doesn’t look at her disgraceful appearance. Verelin is also beside Maldoran to help him. Her own tears river down her face, thinking that they didn’t manage to catch her, but her respite is unimaginable. She’s so grateful for Xe’Reth. Such a whimpering escapes from her mouth as Madelyn’s feet finally touches the stone floor of the balcony.

“M-Mis-Mistreees…!” Verelin hugs her so tight while Madelyn can only gaze with dead eyes now that she realizes what she has done. The tears from Madelyn begins again, to embrace her handmaiden so she can feel her warmth. Madelyn didn’t think clearly, just a simple spur of the moment. She doesn’t want to die, she wants to live.

“I beg of you little sister, don’t ever do that again…” Maldoran says with such squinting eyes of horror and a spasming mouth wanting to continue, but he lets Madelyn have her rest. ‘I will still need to punish her by taking her with me for the remainder of the day. Never again will I let her have a moment of peace. It’ll be hard for her, but I need to get her on the right path… away from her pains. Though having her around Xe’Reth to let them forgive each other will be good too.’

Both of them cry in each other’s arms, one burying her head on the bosoms, the other runs her fingers through the smooth blond hair. Madelyn the child and Verelin the adult. Though Velyn is still snoozing away on the floor from being choked unconscious by Taryna, which is sitting next to the fainted Malinda.

Her lights were blown out from the memory of witnessing her mother’s corpse all damaged with protruding bones caused by the high altitude’s fall. Thinking that her own sister will turn up like that.

“Ah… Malinda…!” Maldoran shouts but sighs. “Xe’Reth, Malinda never did take our mother’s death well. She was the one who suffered the most. And experiencing such an event as this…? She’ll cry when she wakes up, so do comfort her.” Maldoran puts his gauntlet on Xe’Reth’s shoulder, giving him such a loving smile yet winces at Xe’Reth’s neck wound.

“Malinda may seem like an iron maiden on the outside, but she is…” he sighs, remembering Malinda having tears just recently when she was handling her duties for the army. “She has always needed someone to be by her side. To comfort her when she wakes up, to hold her, to calm her down from her dreams.”

“You know about the nightmares…?” Xe’Reth asks while raising his scarred brow. He gazes toward Madelyn, who gazes back at him but averts away in shame.

“Of course, she told me herself,” Maldoran says with a long face. “Sometimes she reports in sick because of not wanting to leave after a night of experiencing such nightmares. I’ve given her so much free space. But enough about that.” He switches to Madelyn, to tear the hugging ladies off of each other, grabbing her upper arm rather tightly as he begins to walk with her. “Young lady, you’ll return to your wing and clothe yourself in your heaviest plate armor, and then meet me in the main courtyard.”

“W-What?! But… but I’m not feeling well brother… I almost died! I think I have a fever!” Madelyn whines in defense but only gets a head whipping at her.

“You’ve caused enough trouble for today, and I’ll have you by my side so you can’t cause anything else! Now come, you troublesome girl,” Maldoran retorts, tugging Madelyn along with him, but stops as he reaches the broken entrance.

“Everyone! If I hear of this event spreading through the Citadel, know this: I’ll have you stripped of your privileges and then thrown out for your disloyalty! Understood?!” Maldoran roars, scanning every single servant who cowers away from his voice. “Didn’t you hear me?! Do you understand what I said?!”

“Yes, Honored Lord!” everyone screams in unison, backing to make room for him and Madelyn as they leave the room to walk down the long corridor leading to Madelyn’s wing. Even Verelin carries her sleeping sister on her back. She was beaten, so she has come to the decision of letting Maldoran have his way. And going past Theresa’s chamber, Maldoran gains a grateful smile while Madelyn moans that her arm hurts since he’s holding it rather tightly…

……

…

At the Citadel’s healer’s house on the southwest side, Celyssa had ordered the big-breasted driver to go straight here where they’re now. Linadra, the head-handmaiden and Ellenia, the handmaiden of Merissa have carried her Mistress inside the wooden house so quick that Celyssa hasn't had the time to get out of the carriage yet.

Her whole body is shaking; hands clutching in a prayer, eyes closed, and the whispering of words, “—I ask for your blessings my Divine Queens… I beg of you… Let her be cleansed from the darkness that has befallen her. Let what she ate be purged from her body. My Queens, my mothers, I’ll pay any price, so… so, please… let my baby be okay…”

“Madam…” a servant peeks in with sorrow filling her squinting eyes, not knowing why the Madam is in such a situation as this.

“You interrupt my prayer…?” Celyssa glares at the servant that immediately falls to her knees outside, placing her hands on the inside of the carriage.

“F-For-Forgive my unworthy self, but your husband is searching for you… He needs to speak with you urgently. He had a rather dire expression…” the servant says, which’s the same servant who took Maldoran’s stallion to the stables.

She had caught Celyssa’s carriage as she was about to return to her duties since she had stayed way too long with the girls that were handling the horses. Though through her bravery, she’s here now to give her the news of what Maldoran said to her, or more like he asked where Celyssa was. But she has proudly taken this duty upon herself to report the news of him looking for her.

“Fine…” Celyssa says, waving the servant away while sitting with a body bending forward, “I’ll go see what he wants…”

‘I certainly hope that the City Commander does his part to the letter. Otherwise, his family will be…’ Celyssa shakes her head, biting her lip for covering this whole mess up. ‘I should’ve prepared for something like this to happen sooner or later… But that boy needs to be dealt with quicker than I thought… Today? No, tomorrow will be better. First Linadra’s husband must prepare the contaminant… then… I must invite everyone to dinner… again…’

The kneeling servant, out of sight, running away to her duties. And Celyssa, she remains in the carriage for a little while longer. She must prepare herself because her husband will become madness incarnate. Will he be so furious that he’ll hit her? Celyssa doesn’t know, he has never been much for yelling. He hasn’t even hit her before. Though her mind must be prepared.

Her eyes close, her gathered air exhale, and her body relax to sit there in peace for as long as she can, removing all worries from her mind, but she winces when her thoughts focus on Merissa.

She clutches her hands to pray once more…

………

……

…

The Citadel has become a rumored filled household.

Even though Maldoran ordered the servants to be utterly silent, they couldn’t keep such news to themselves. The Sanctuary; full of loud voices and flowing tears.

The servants can be so emotional when it’s about their favored Honored Lady, especially when it’s about Malinda, for most of the younger ones aims to join her wing, but most fail because of the sheer number of younglings trying to pick Malinda as their Mistress.

The Matriarch Ereanna had to arrange for all the Sanctuary’s younger servants to be gathered up since it has become such an uproar. To think that Malinda’s own sister tried to threaten Xe’Reth’s mother with death. Loving Xe’Reth, wanting to take him for herself. Even the nerve of faking a suicide to play the victim has spread.

A riot to make Madelyn pay for her crimes inside the Sanctuary has begun, for all the blame and hatred is being thrown at her, yet, it’s her own fault for causing this. The younglings look up to Malinda more than anyone else, so hearing of what happened to her, they, of course, want the guilty party to pay dearly for making their star cry, though that’s only the little ones. The full-fledged servants do loathe Madelyn for betraying her loving and benevolent sister, but they know when to keep their mouths shut… most of the time.

However, a rumor so sacrilegious, so horrifying have gotten to everyone’s ears…

That Madelyn wants to murder her own sister…

That is something the older ones cannot forgive no matter who it is. Yet, only a blown up rumor that was spread by a servant that worships Malinda. A woman that saw everything that happened. Her Mistress shedding tears for that snake of a sister? Why didn’t she fall to her death instead of surviving?

There has never been an open murder caused by a servant before, though now that such an event as this has occurred, protection must be arranged for Madelyn. Because some of the servants might murder her themselves for hurting their Mistress, their star, their Goddess.

……

…

‘I can’t believe this family… to actually forgive Madelyn… Just forgetting all about her crimes… and for what? Because she tried to commit suicide?’ Xe’Reth ponders, sitting on the long L-shaped couch on the east side of the lounging room while servants scurry around cleaning the place up.

Malinda is asleep in her chamber, while Xe’Reth left her there to be alone.

She wanted Xe’Reth to leave so she could come to terms with all that has happened. Though not after giving Xe’Reth multiple kisses to assure him that nothing will tear them apart from each other. She clung to him, pleading for his forgiveness in pardoning Madelyn, because even though all of this has transpired, she can’t hate her foolish sister. She loves her too much.

Taryna, too, sits on the couch just a few meters away from him, being rather awkward at the moment. She hasn’t spoken a single word, only giving him her silence. But, her brow is now raised because of his blatant sigh.

“Feeling restless… Xe’Reth…?” Taryna asks, forcing such a smile on her mouth. But Xe’Reth doesn’t reply, making her click with her tongue as she returns to be a sitting statue, gazing into the east hearth in front.

“Taryna, if you’re so impatient, you may as well leave to go back to your duties. I can keep the boy company while he waits for our Mistress to wake up,” Annettria says with also a smile on her mouth, but a genuine one. She’s leaning forward so they can make eye contact while sitting a half a meter away from Xe’Reth.

‘Seriously, this old lady sits too close… Even when we were talking before. A tactic to make me feel… insecure perhaps?’ Xe’Reth puffs out air again, making Taryna glare at him for his unsightly behavior. Though Taryna is right. Xe’Reth is restless. He has never felt so full of energy in a while now… He hasn’t had a moment of peace ever since his mother fell ill. Always work, work, and work. Never respite, never letting his guard down for a moment.

Xe’Reth has enjoyed the time he has spent with Malinda. But she’s only a means to an end. To get a better life. But his ambition won’t let him have any rest. He has plans for the future. Children. He wants a big family. A family he can control. Children to control. He needs absolute control. Otherwise, he’ll go insane from this peaceful ambiance that’s seeping into his heart, slowly.

“So be it. I didn’t want to sit here anyways. Do send someone to get me when Mistress wakes up, understand?” Taryna says as she glares at Annettria, not bothering with mutt. As she gets no response from the servant, Taryna, “Hmphs,” while standing up.

Then she leaves the room to go to her own office right across.

But, she squints her eyes to make a right turn to go towards Theresa’s chamber… However, as she gets to the doors, she strides past to step into Madelyn’s wing instead, for she has business with Malinda’s sister that needs her utmost attention… Taryna can only hope that she hasn’t left yet with Maldoran.

…

“So Xe’Reth… you fancy older women, huh…?” Annettria teases, switching her dress-covered legs back and forth. An adult woman. Her lean womanly curves don't hide anything, even her sitting position is flawless with a straightened back and pushed out chest.

Placing her unflawed hand on Xe’Reth’s thigh, she pinches with her index and thumb to remove dust from his pants. Also giving him a wipe since his black pants are drawing in unwanted colors. “Malinda is older than you by… how old are you again? Seventeen? I forget.”

“Yes… Seventeen…” Xe’Reth answers but she obviously knows the answer. His eyes follow as Annettria removes her hand from him to place the dust on the floor instead. She’s rather nonchalant as if she’s trying to butter him up with motherly love. ‘Seventeen… Mother… Why am I not seventeen? Why did you lie?’

“We didn’t meet under the right circumstances, my boy,” she says, lowering her voice to become secretive. She leans in closer, “Do forgive Ereanna, her age has made her very strict. But let me tell you, she’s beyond pleased with you coming in here to cause a little ruckus; having your mother actually be Maldoran’s lost love, and you even made the sisters turn on each other. Bravo.”

“Malinda is going to forgive Madelyn. And I don’t know how it’ll turn out with Maldoran and my mother,” Xe’Reth reveals as he moves his eyes to the corner of his sight, to seem as if he’s only watching the hearth so the servants don't suspect anything. With an, “Ah,” escaping from her mouth, Xe’Reth asks, “But what do you want, what does Ereanna want with me now…?”

“She wants nothing… It’s I who wants something from you, Xe’Reth,” Annettria smirks in a rather intriguing way with head turning to him, touching his patched up neck. “How is the wound that Madelyn gave you…?”

“Do you even need to ask?”

“Ah, of course. I’m just worried that’s all. I can’t have you dying on me now…” Annettria chuckles with curves rising, placing her hand on his shoulder instead to grip him tightly. Her eyes turn serious as they narrow. “I need you to pick me as your second handmaiden.”

“Oh...? But I’ve no need for an old woman slowing me down,” Xe’Reth jokes with a grin directing at the fireplace, still having his eyes at the corner of his socket to watch that expression of hers. But only juicy pouting lips displays.

“I’m not that old yet… I’m still in my early thirties…” she says, but even she doesn’t believe in her own words, causing her to gain even higher upward curves on her tightened lips.

“Yeah right,” Xe’Reth chuckles with a shaking head. “If you’re thirty, then I’m a five-year-old child.”

“All right – I just turned forty but keep it a secret. Though, enough with this small talk. Do you accept…? I won’t get in your way. I’ll only be in the background tending to whatever you need me to do. Since I’m going to spend most of my time in the Sanctuary anyways. So, what do you say?” Annettria asks with deadset eyes gluing onto Xe’Reth’s dark globes.

“How is your experience with medicine? Have you tended to someone before?” Xe’Reth probes, asking questions to see if she can be a tender to his mother while he’s away on business because he won’t have much time to care for her in the future. He needs someone he can trust, well, at least someone he knows that won’t hurt her. He must work quickly and silently. “And do the Sanctuary have any secret passages that lead out of the Citadel?”

“So, you’re asking if I can become your mother’s healer?” she questions. Her mouth moves side to side, thinking if she has the means. With an exhale, she gains a beam on her face. “Yes, I know of such an occupation. Though, I would need you to show me the ropes of handling that… flower. Oh, and about the way out of the Citadel – yes, there are such passages. But you wouldn’t like where those lead.”

“The City’s sewers?” Xe’Reth asks with his scarred brow raising in wonder.

“Correct. Though thankfully we have the schematics for the sewers, making it easy to navigate through them. But why…?” Annettria too raises a brow. “Thinking of taking things into your own hands…? Hm, that won’t do at all.”

“I don’t really care for your permission. I’m going to search for my mother’s cure in the facilities belonging to the Bradinox household. With or without your old ladies’ club’s help,” Xe’Reth admits with sharp eyebrows lowering to glare at her. “How about this: in exchange for you becoming my handmaiden, I’ll get assistance and get to use the Sanctuary’s exit whenever I want. Because other than Cerinn, Taryna, Tanya, and Recina, you’ve no grasp to get a further extension of your hands. Right? Though I’ll mostly use the exit in the middle of the night since Malinda is a heavy sleeper. So I can use that opportunity to scout out the facilities.”

Annettria turns to the blazing hearth, squinting at the fire. She has the permission to make big decisions, but endangering Xe’Reth’s life is something she can’t take lightly. The ladies need him. However, they as Xe’Reth, also need to destroy that disgusting family since the Bradinox will attempt to remove him.

Running her tongue over her upper teeth, she decides over her better judgment with a secret handshake between them, “Deal. But I’ll not let you scout all alone. Those buildings are heavily guarded. A couple of Spy-Maidens will join you.”

Xe’Reth snorts a laugh, “Pfft, Spy-Maidens? Who comes up with these ridiculous titles…?” He recoils, witnessing Annettria’s glare of death. She leans in so close, her breath on his ear.

“You better not laugh. You’re disrespecting the dead…” Annettria hisses with anger, grabbing tighter around his hand, but Xe’Reth contests with her. Though as none of them gain victory, they make peace instead, letting go of their squeezing clutch.

“Sorry, I meant no disrespect… So, with that dealt with, how about I show you the ropes? It’s rather easy to learn,” Xe’Reth says while standing up, to offer his hand to the eye flickering woman, giving her such a handsome smile.

“As-As you wish, Master Xe’Reth,” Annettria smirks as she grabs his hand to be heaved off of the couch.

They begin walking.

Reaching the entrance, Annettria waves to a cleaning servant to come over, making the girl run to her with hands holding up her dress. “It is done. Bring a couple of higher tiered girls to Theresa’s room to be briefed of their new duties.”

Xe’Reth raises his scarred brow, wondering why she even asked for permission. They had might as well forced him to accept her as his second handmaiden. But they know his tendencies, so the ladies wanted him to agree on his own terms, which is now done and final.

“Does everyone in Malinda’s wing belong to the Sisterhood? Or whatever you call it?” Xe’Reth asks as they start walking again toward his mother’s chamber. “Can they really be trusted? You do know how illegal that flower is, right?”

“I assure you… they won’t betray our Mistress by angering her lover. So you can count on their silence,” Annettria guarantees with a wave of her hand as she walks. “And as Malinda said yesterday… a handmaiden controls your servants while you control the handmaidens. Though, I’ve yet to meet that little girl of yours that you saved. I’ve heard of her… personality.”

‘Divines, they listen in on everything…’ Xe’Reth grumbles with an inward sigh.

“Cerinn, yes, she’s a handful to be sure. But you two will get along just fine. Because you’ll have to contest with her over my favor, old lady,” Xe’Reth chuckles with hand over face. “Honored Handmaidens… Since I’ve never come in contact with any before, they’re even higher than regular nobles, aren’t they?”

Annettria giggles as she taps his shoulder, “That we are… We’re representing our Mistress or Master whenever they’re unavailable. We too handle the money of our Master or Mistress. Money that I’ll see so you won’t spend everything on junk. But judging by how you’ve lived, you aren’t too greedy. You’re only ambitious. Money doesn’t really matter to you, yes?”

“If you say so… But yes, I don’t care for wealth that much. Because I haven’t had much to begin with. Yet, if you don’t have it, you can’t climb… to the top,” Xe’Reth grins, causing Annettria to recoil a bit from his dark eyes gazing at her. Almost the same emotion screaming inside her head when she had to kick him so Ereanna wouldn’t suffer a heart attack.

She coughs a couple of times to regain her footing, then she opens her mouth, “Oh, I almost forgot. In a couple of days, a magician is going to arrive. And let me tell you a secret…”

Xe’Reth and her both stops, while she leans in so close to whisper into his ear, “That particular magician is a part of the Tertin household. A great, great, great, great aunt to the family. We reported to her about Malinda finding someone through… an artifact. She has dropped everything to just to come and meet you. You do know that they don’t age, right?”

“Of course, it’s common knowledge…” Xe’Reth replies as he continues onward. ‘I’ve never heard of a Tertin being a magician before. Must have been a very guarded secret, or it’s just that I haven’t looked into it. I wonder what specialty that great aunt has… Hopefully, she can’t read minds…’

Watching Xe’Reth, Annettria chuckles at his sudden dire expression, not hiding it one bit.

“Don’t worry boy… she has been waiting for this moment ever since Maldoran took over. She’s a friend to Malinda and to the Sisterhood,” Annettria explains with such a cheery smile.

“Then she’s one of the founding members…?” Xe’Reth asks with pursing lips, calming down.

“Haa…? Heh, no,” she chuckles, slapping Xe’Reth’s shoulder in a tease. “Not even close. It was founded many years before she was born.”

“I see…” Xe’Reth says with narrow eyes that gaze onward, toward Madelyn’s wing, and with a turn to go inside to his mother’s chamber, they disappear as Xe’Reth unlocks the doors since he did lock them before running after Maldoran…

……

…

Thanks for reading!

Family is family... Blood is blood. Though I do wonder what will happen to Madelyn... And I'm not talking about what I'm talking about... Hints have been laid. Lol. xD

Plots dissolve, more emerge... Anyone keeping track? 'Cause I must. :blood:

Hoped to have the Character List up after this chapter, but I'll push it up to next one. :(

Have I ever said how large the Kingdom is? :/

Don't forget to voice your thoughts!

Until...next time... Hopefully in a week like this one! Hehe.

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