------------ Dangou ------------

“She is the child of the King of *Ritorias.”

Dangou stepped back, in awe of what he had just heard.

“What!? Eadrid? The princess of Ritorias??” He asked, “And you? You were the Queen?”

Ariadne chuckled at the knight’s exaggerated reaction then shook her head.

“No, no. Nothing as grand as that.” She laughed, “By the time my lover had assumed the position of king, I was merely a mistress.”

Dangou was still shocked at the revelation. Who would’ve thought that the daughter of the Siren of Oakenbrew would be a forgotten princess of the King of Ritorias? Just the thought made him dizzy.

Seeing as he was still dazed, Ariadne smiled and continued.

“It is quite the secret is it not?” She said, beckoning him to sit back down, “Do you wonder why I chose to reveal it to you?”

Dangou sat and nodded.

“Indeed. Why me? I am merely a stranger to you.” He asked.

Ariadne chuckled.

“Oh Dangou, everyone who visits this god forsaken cave is a stranger to me.” She answered, “I chose you simply because it seemed fitting, as you are a Queensguard.”

Dangou smiled wryly.

“Well, I was.” He laughed.

Ariadne joined in laughter.

“Even better!”

The pair sat, enjoying the comfortable atmosphere for a few extra moments, before Ariadne spoke again.

“You know there is a certain… price for me revealing such close to heart secret, right?” She winked at Dangou.

Dangou raised his brow.

“We didn’t discuss this beforehand… but I’ll entertain it?” He replied questioningly.

Ariadne nodded.

“I only have one request of you.” She said, slowly lifting her naked body from the bed and kneeling before Dangou.

Dangou stood up startled, then quickly snatched a blanket beside him, draping it across the shivering, defenceless woman.

“What do you seek? I’ll listen to your request.” He said in a caring voice as he carefully wrapped the siren up.

Ariadne let out a quivering breath, then started slowly.

“As you can probably tell, my time nears its end.” She explained.

Dangou nodded.

“I want you to take-“

But before Ariadne could finish, a booming crash interrupted their conversation. Dangou instantly sensed that the front door had been breached, and sighed. Then a scream followed and Dangou froze. It seemed their time was up much earlier than expected. He turned to Ariadne, who sat bare on the floor, her eyes tearing up as they locked with his and he knew he needed to stay a little longer.

------------ Eadrid -------------

Eadrid turned to face the perpetrator of her home with an exasperated look on her face. Just as her life had begun to spiral in the correct direction, someone had to come in and ruin the flow.

“Who are you?” Said the woman, raising a perturbed eyebrow, “So it wasn’t Dangou after all?”

Eadrid sighed, too caught up in her frustration to recognise the opponent’s skill level.

“My name doesn’t matter lady.” She replied impatiently, “What does matter is that you’re in my house without any sort of permission.”

The woman frowned, then laughed.

“That’s funny.” She smirked, then suddenly disappeared.

Eadrid froze, unsure as to what had just happened, until she heard a whisper from behind her ear.

“Tell me more in the afterlife.” Said the voice.

Finally recognizing the situation, Eadrid took a fearful glance behind her, but found her gaze locked forward by unknown magic. Unable to act, she took to her final resort and screamed for help. Then, without a second’s delay, the backdoor exploded into shrapnel.

------------ Dangou ------------

Dangou walked through the shattered backdoor with a look of utter annoyance upon his face. After witnessing Ariadne’s despair, his temper, as expected, had riled up significantly. And as he entered the room, he glanced towards Eadrid and Elieza, and sighed. Instead of paying them due attention, he walked to the kitchen and retrieved a glass of water. Then sat down at the dining table and stared at the pair of wrestling women.

“Dangou, what are you doing?! Save me!” Eadrid shouted at the calmly seated knight.

Dangou casually waved aside her request and opted instead to face the perpetrator.

“Elieza… was it so hard to wait the fifteen or so minutes I had requested?” He asked.

The hostage-holding woman behind Eadrid tilted her head.

“I don’t remember agreeing on an exact number.” She smirked.

“Wait Dangou, you know this woman?!” Eadrid complained.

Dangou grimaced and waved again for the girl to shush, as though to say, ‘Not right now.’ And in response, Eadrid grumbled in discontent, but eventually gave up and stood limp in Elieza’s grasp.

“I had the impression you were alone in this compound, Sir Sheen.” Elieza chuckled, looking down at the young girl, “Are you perhaps, scheming something?”

Dangou shook his head, his face void of emotion.

“No.” He answered plainly, “But,”

He pointed at Elieza.

“You certainly seem to be.”

“Me?” Elieza laughed, “What would I, the rightful messenger of the Empire, possibly be scheming of?”

Dangou shrugged.

“I don’t know,” he returned, “however, the ‘rightful messenger’ of the Empire seems far too eager in her mission. Does she not?”

“Eager enough, at the very least, to take hostage a peaceful bystander.” He noted.

Elieza smiled cockily and drew a dagger to Eadrid’s neck.

“Whatever Dangou. Don’t talk too much, put on the shackles.”

Dangou sighed, then nodded slowly and opened his hands. In response, Elieza grinned approvingly and threw forward a pair of metallic rings.

As Dangou picked up the shackles, he felt his power, in particular his *magic potential, draining from his arms. Shackles made of *cold steel, rather smart for dealing with higher class knights, he thought. He stole a glance at Eadrid as he put on the restraints one at a time and activated the lock mechanism with a press of his pinkie. When the locking had finally complete, the shackles glowed a fiery red.

“Red, huh?” Elieza paused, slightly surprised. “Rather impressive.”

Dangou nodded.

“That’s what they usually say.”

Elieza quickly recovered, returning to her signature smirk.

“Not that it matters anymore. Now, hand over the sword.” She said, beckoning.

Dangou frowned.

“I wouldn’t recommend that.” He said, “It’s safer with me.”

“Shut up.” Elieza commanded, pressing the blade closer to Eadrid’s neck, “Hand it over.”

Hesitantly, Dangou reached down and unlatched Osiro from his belt.

“Don’t blame me if something goes wrong…” He grumbled, then tossed her at Elieza’s feet.

The lady scoffed.

“Worried I might cut myself?” She taunted, then drew her sword, “You should spend that energy on worrying for yourself.”

------------ The Unravelling (3) ------------

*Reminder that Ritorias is the Nation-state neighboring The Empire.*

**Magic Potential - MP - Determines how powerful and how many spells one may cast in a designated amount of time. Most Magic Potential is set at birth, but can be improved through vigilant training.**

***Cold Steel - Power Absorbing Metal used in many Detainment centres as material for containment. Special properties include a change in colour depending on the detainee's power, ranging from Light Yellow to Ocean Blue to Fire Red. ***