Chapter 8 - Rage and Punishment

"Definitely not! I…" The 14th elder replied and tried to defend but was cut off by Alice once more, "Good. Since that is so, then tell me where you got your information. Best not lie to me, Elder." The white, well lit room had suddenly darkened slightly. The atmosphere had turned heavy as pressure was beginning to build on the 14th Elder.

"The boy. I had them follow the boy. He was discussing it with someone earlier today." The 14th Elder spoke in a heavy tone. He knew he had messed up. The young princess before him was just like her father. Terrible tempers. It was especially so when the gave orders and someone disobeyed or tried to find loopholes in them. Although they usually said they were asking instead of ordering around, everyone on the sect knew very well they were orders and knew not to disobey them.

The pressure in the room disappeared to the relief of the 14th Elder, while the place brightened once more. "Makes sense. The family of the person that was taken may have gone to Mr. Colson to help with the case." Alice remained silent while in thought for a while, while the 14th Elder remained silent and motionless by the side so as to not disturb her. In fact, he had reduced his presence slightly, praying the princess would forget about him, although he knew that was not going to happen, he could only pray.

"Good work Elder. If you had not done what you did, we would not have found out this valuable information. Hachi, Nana!" The 14th Elder let out a sigh and a breath he had no idea he was holding. At the call of their names, the two who had returned from their mission immediately appeared in front of Alice on one knee with their heads slightly bowed. "Princess!" They both called in unison.

"Since both of you have began this endeavor, you will complete it. The blood church, with their evil, have harmed the mortals of this world. We will not stand for it. Find them and bring me their heads. Do not return if you fail this mission. Do I make myself clear?" The 14th Elder who had let out a sigh of relief earlier ended up holding his breath once more. There it was. Their punishment. How could he have forgotten. No, it was not like he had forgotten. It was more like he was praying it did not come at all. When she praised him earlier, he felt his prayers had been answered and let down his guard. How foolish of him.

"Yes, Princess!" The answered at the same time. With a nod from Alice, they both disappeared from their positions. "Every shadow clear the room." At her command, different shadows moved out from all parts of the room and disappeared. The moment she confirmed they were alone, the pressure that was gone came savagely crushing back down a thousand times more powerful than before. The 14th elder was slammed unto the floor with his bones creaking loudly in agony. Blood leaked out from his mouth as he lay there with gritted teeth, trying hard to resist the pressure.

He knew the princess was more powerful that some of the elders in the sect. She was blessed with terrifying talent that helped her surpass most in only a short period of time. It was worse for him, who did not specialize in power or cultivation level, as such he was weaker that most. Ice slowly began to cover his body as the piercing cold slowly began to invade his body, even with his energies trying to fight it out.

"I believe I told you to leave the boy alone, and yet, you felt it was best to ignore my words." Alice's words were as cold as the gazed she glared down at the 14th elder with. The 14th elder tried to speak to defend himself but realized anytime he tried, the pressure increased while the ice and cold invaded even faster. As wise as he is, he decided to stay quiet and receive his punishment. It was unbearable, and he wanted to scream but he couldn't. He realized this time that he had enraged the princess. Why? What was the reason? Could it be because of that boy? Had the princess fallen for the mortal boy? It was impossible. She was their princess. Royalty. There was no way she would have fallen for some random mortal human boy. They would not allow it, much less her royal father.

The pressure finally lifted. The 14th Elder vomited a pool of blood and ice in his relief, grateful she had let his off easy. "Henceforth the shadows do not move unless I command them." With those words she walked out of the room, leaving the 14th elder to try and catch his breath as he sat cross-legged with some difficulty. He took out a pill and swallowed it, slowly regulating his breathing. As his condition stabilized, his mind went back to his earlier thoughts. He had always trusted his gut feeling. Every elder in the sect trusted his gut feeling. Heck, even the master trusted his gut feeling, and his gut was telling him there was something very off about the boy.

The first moment he laid eyes on him he felt absolutely nothing, which was very unsettling for him. It could be that the boy was extremely ordinary to that point. But still, no matter what, he should have been able to at least feel something however miniscule from the boy, and now the princess had fallen for the boy? It was impossible right? He had to fix it. Off or not, the boy was still just an ordinary mortal without any future. There was no way he would allow such a nobody to worm his way into the sect and ruin it. The more the 14th elder thought about it, the more determined he got. It was to the point where a dangerous thought surfaced in his mind; Eliminating the boy to prevent future inconveniences. No one knew the consequences of such an action.

…

James made his way home from the Brisk Café. He noticed on his way back, however, that the two that were following him earlier were no longer following him. He got to the house around afternoon and saw his mother working on her computer. She was a 'psychic' who gave paid advice with a group of women sometimes in person or on the internet which surprisingly had a large customer base. It was quite surprising to see so many people out there who wanted to know about their fates; be it about love, the future or fortune.

When James walked in, his mother looked to be in another world as she click-clacked away on the keyboard. James walked to the fridge and poured himself a glass of juice while he waited on the couch for his mother to finish her tasks. He knew she got super focused when it came to her work and it was better to not bother her when she got into her zone like that.