Chapter 41

Trust

“Amidst the misery, you cannot find a trace of joy; look at them, rotting and dying. Why aren’t they dead yet?”

The Fragments

These past two weeks were both peaceful and worrying for Olivia. As she no longer needed to be on the pins over someone discovering Noah’s identity, she found it easier to relax, but considering the fact that he’s half a Kingdom away from her, she couldn’t help but worry if something had happened to him.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a bell – and not just any bell – the Bell of Fire. Her body stiffened, her eyes widening, heart beating rapidly. Sweat quickly manifested on her skin, her suddenly shriveling body shaking. The sound of the bell was elongated, mournful, and hollow, echoing throughout the city, reaching every wall.

What followed was a moment of lull, a minute moment of silence, before the calm city was flipped upside down. She herself raced out of her room and out of the mansion, running so wildly she completely disregarded her image as a Princess of the Kingdom. Her eyes were wily and wild, her breathing ragged as she raced over to the Palace. She was hardly alone in the department; virtually everyone from the Royal Grounds was out in the open, racing toward the Palace. She even saw her two Eldest Brothers running madly, their usual composure nowhere to be found. It made sense, after all.

She joined the sea of masses as they flooded into the Palace, slowly climbing up the starlit stairs erected right beyond the majestic, arched entrance of the Palace. It was a wide and hollow building, though it only housed a single room – the Throne Room. The doors to the Throne Room, the gold-cast behemoths decorated in the motif of the sun, were flung open, all Royal Guards at the ready, lining up to the side, as though this onslaught of souls was expected. No, it was expected, Olivia knew.

As a member of Royalty, she had the privilege of leading the charge alongside her siblings while they slowly approached the throne, where her Father was seated, her Mother standing right to his side. Though their expressions were emotionless, Olivia hardly trusted them. The Bell… the Bell was not something anyone could remain indifferent to.

One by one, the throne room soon became full – so full that the Royal Guards had to pull back slightly to make more room. The red carpet beneath them softened the uncomfortable feeling of kneeling as everyone kissed the ground before the King, waiting for his leave.

“Please rise,” his soft voice echoed out as the noises ceased, everyone’s ears perked up. She met the pair of the amber eyes for but a flash, and she could have sworn she saw a trace of gratitude in them, though she couldn’t figure out why. “You have all heard the Bells. I don’t think I need to say much more. I have already sent the Ravens to the Dukedoms, informing them of the current situation. For the time being, there isn’t much we can do until we see how large of an army can we muster as quickly as possible. The information about the Kindled comes directly from Sumnner, so it is hollow to doubt it and play deaf.”

“…” everyone seemed to swallow something at that moment, looking down. All this while, they had truly hoped it was just a mistake, or that the King was misinformed. However… if the news came directly from Sumnner, there was no point in hoping. That thing… never failed to warn them of the cataclysmic events, for hundreds of years now.

“For the time being, I have issued orders to the City Guards to maintain order, and have sent a few Ravens to the border regions so they can start preparing for the Floods. As is tradition, the Royal Family will grant access to the Illumination to a hundred elect – the tournament will be held two weeks from now, and everyone is allowed to participate, regardless of their status. I will personally oversee it, so I hope everyone gives it their all. Return to your homes now; if more information becomes available, you will receive your summons."

“Yes, Your Majesty,” soaring voices of almost two hundred people shook the hall for a moment before they slowly began drifting out; within twenty minutes, Olivia realized that only her siblings and she were left, alongside Father and Mother. Of their siblings, only her Sister was missing, Olivia realized. She did mention she would be leaving for a while, though as for where to, Olivia had no clue.

“… is it true, Father?” Evon stepped out suddenly and asked, the look in his eyes one of terror.

"… it is, I'm afraid," their Father sighed, his upright countenance dwindling. He now appeared to truly match his age – an old and worn-out man. "With a thousand suns, I wish it wasn't."

“… did Sumnner visit You?” Evon asked. “I haven’t sensed its presence.”

“No,” the King shook his head. “Rather, we have Olivia to thank for this information.”

“… e-eh?” Olivia stuttered lowly, shook by the sudden attention she was given. “M-me, Father? H-how?”

“… your Dacent,” the King smiled faintly. “Was the one who Sumnner visited and relayed the warning through.”

“…” Olivia’s eyes widened into saucers – and she was hardly alone in it. Everyone currently present, including her Mother, had a look of shock on their faces. While Sumnner won’t indiscriminately kill anyone, it rarely – if ever – actually relays information through someone. It usually seeks out either the King or the Lightbringer directly.

“C-can… can we be certain… that the man didn’t lie?” Sigmund questioned, though rather meekly.

“Yes,” the King nodded. “Sumnner gave him the same message he’d given to Ancestor Iot. Doubt as we may, the Kindled are coming.”

“…” everyone suddenly fell into silence, feeling the weight of reality fall upon their shoulder. It was true, after all. The Kindled are coming. The swarm that had nearly destroyed the entire peninsula twice in the past – once before the coming of the First, and the second time just over three hundred years ago.

“Everyone, take your leave and start making preparations,” the King said, sighing faintly. “If you can, find someone with the seeming talent and enroll them into the tournament. We need all the help we can get. Olivia, you stay for a moment.”

“Yes, Father.” The choir of five voices echoed out for a moment before the four departed, leaving Olivia alone with her parents.

“You too, Moria,” Jovyer’s words surprised both Olivia and her mother, as the latter shot him a questioning gaze. “What I’m about to discuss with her is of rather private nature between her Dacent and her.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” Moria smiled faintly and bowed, withdrawing. At that moment, however, Olivia started sweating. He knows, her heart shook. He knows everything… how?! Did… did Noah tell him?! No, he’s not so stupid. D-did… did he know from the beginning?! Ah!! Rystal!

“Relax, Olivia,” Jovyer chuckled faintly, seeing her restless face, as he got up off the throne and down the set of glistening-gold stairs, reaching her and patting her head. “I didn’t ask you to stay to pry or punish you. Would you like to share a drink with your old man?”

"… o-of course, Father." The light in front of her eyes suddenly bent backward and over itself as she found herself blinded for a moment. Right after, her innards felt shuffled about, nearly to the point of vomiting. When she opened her eyes, she realized she was in a completely unfamiliar room – one decorated so simply one would think it has been abandoned for years now.

Jovyer walked over to the simple set of wooden tables and chairs, sitting down and reaching into the rotting wall to the side, pulling a single brick aside, taking out a dusted bottle from within, and a pair of dusted glasses. He used his robes to clean them before pouring out the red liquid into them, signaling Olivia to sit down. She did so, meekly, still reeling from shock and trying to keep the contents of her stomach where they belong.

“… ah,” Jovyer exclaimed softly. “That was the first time you were Woven, right?”

“… w-woven?” Olivia asked as he pushed one of the glasses toward her.

“It’s a minute trick your father had learned in his youth,” Jovyer chuckled. “Perhaps, if you apply yourself, I might teach you how to do it one day.”

“… a-ah, sure…” she hardly understood the implications, her mind still stuck in confusion and shock.

“I already told you – I’ve no intention of doing anything to either one of you two,” he said. “I simply wanted to talk with you.”

“… about what?” Olivia asked.

“… how much do you trust him?”

“… trust him?”

“I know you’re clever enough not to hold absolute trust in anyone,” Jovyer said, the tone of his voice growing serious. “But how clever exactly you are, I ought to find out if you answer me.”

“… I…” how much did she trust Noah? A part of her truly wanted to trust every single word he said, especially considering what she saw when she visited the Wheel, but a part of her doubted nigh everything he said and did, always digging for the hidden motives in his actions.

“I met him only briefly,” Jovyer said. “But… my impression of him is so dual even I’m at a loss for words.”

“Father?” Olivia looked up and met a pair of amber eyes; unlike all other times she’d look into them, now they lacked that absolute confidence – rather, there was a trace of doubt and worry in them, shocking her perhaps more than everything she’d heard today.

“… he’s a ruthless man,” Jovyer said, sighing. "But that's not what makes him so dangerous. There are plenty of ruthless men; a whole pot of them even serve me. However, I'd happily dabble with all of them at the same time if it meant not having to do the same with him. What makes him dangerous is that he masks that ruthlessness through truth."

“…”

“He outright told his slaves he would kill them if they failed him,” Jovyer said. “But did so in such a way that it only made them more fervent about serving him properly. Somehow, in their minds, that ‘death’ part didn’t even register. Yet, I’ve no doubt in my mind he would behead each and every one of them if the situation required it.”

“… I… I know.” Olivia nodded; though she knew Noah was hardly a saint, even she failed to see the depths of his character.

“Even I’m mostly inferring, “Jovyer said, taking a sip of the red liquid. “From what I’ve observed. He’s hidden his nature so masterfully, that I genuinely don’t know what his motives are. Is this how our ancestors felt when they met their Outlanders?”

“…” Olivia bit her lower lip. There was a faint trace of hope in her heart that her Father was merely guessing, but he truly knew. “I—I’m sorry—”

“Don’t be,” Jovyer interrupted her. “I don’t need your apologies. You’ve simply followed the creed of our family. If anything, I’m proud of you. To have kept him hidden from everyone… I don’t think any other of your siblings could have pulled it off. Though, I suppose, your status amongst them is one of the reasons why.”

“… s-should I… should I have him disposed of?” Olivia asked, stealthily glancing at her Father’s expression.

“Why?”

“… e-eh?”

“I said he’s dangerous,” Jovyer smiled. “But isn’t he on your side?”

“…”

"As far as I can tell, all of what he has done so far is with the explicit purpose of helping you, Ollie," he added. "And, above all, he believes in you. If I'm being honest, I felt like a failure of father at that moment; there stood I, doubting my own blood and her ability to chase after her dreams… and there he was, an effective stranger, believing you can do it. Though, in my defense, he did say it was he who he believed in.”

“… that does sound like something he’d say…” Olivia chuckled, shaking her head lightly. “If I’m being honest…” she bit her lower lip; her Father telling her all this meant that he trusted her and that he had no plans on stopping them. Perhaps, he might even help them. “I do trust him. Not because he is a trustworthy person, but because he needs me. He already told me he doesn't believe in relationships based upon some abstract trust; what made us work, he said, is that we needed one another. I needed him for my own, selfish needs, and he needed me for his own. I don't know what he wants either, but I do know that whatever he wants, he needs me to fulfill it. So long as that remains the case, he won’t betray me.”

“…” Jovyer stared at his daughter with an empty smile. She had fallen for his words and wasn't even aware of it. Though, he mused, most everyone would have in her position. He was a dangerously smart man, and she was a girl who barely scratched the surface of the people's nature. It would have been a miracle if she did see through the veneer of his stories. “Drink,” he said. “It’s quite lonely to be drinking alone.”

“Ah, yes…”

Jovyer turned to silence and his own thoughts. He's not any better; he'd given one of the most dangerous and sacrilegious tools in the known world to the man. If Olivia had let the snake into the veins of the world, he had set it afire and unleashed it upon the same world. It may be for the best, he mused in misery; perhaps, this time around, the truths of Light may swell to the surface at last, and the world can, at last, see beyond the veil. Chances are, however, that neither he nor his family would get to see that new, reborn world. There was no place for him in the Hall of Light, amongst his ancestors. He will be cursed and jeered and banished, left to forever roam the world alone as a hollow ghost. I’ve given them a fighting chance, he smiled inwardly; he didn’t need to inform others where or how he got the information, but he still chose to. If you are destined to reign the world, latch onto it… if not, well… it was not meant to be…