The Deal

"...you WHAT?!" Priscilla was dumbfounded.

Carlos was firm with his words. "You must help the Cardinal Manors." He said. "Let's find the Red Courtyard. You're the only one who can help us."

Infuriated, Priscilla scoffs and cusses him out. "Why the fuck would I do that?"

"So we can destroy it." Carlos replied.

Priscilla's eyebrows crossed, she clenched her fists and was holding back to land a punch on the prince's face. "Why the hell would I help the Cardinal Manors?" She angrily spoke. "And why are you siding with them now?"

Though he was firm when he asked for help, the second question weakened him. "I'm not... exactly siding with them... I just... feel indebted to the Superior Leader." He explained while stuttering. After all, he was only with Fauna and Golden Dragonfly as they were instructed by the Superior Leader to accompany him. Even if they were with him and protecting him, he still wasn't sure whether or not he was on the Cardinal Manors' side.

"What a joke." Priscilla shamelessly expresses her anger while suppressing her hardened fists. "That fucking bastard killed Lorelei, and not just her, they killed Gytha, Everild, Woodrow and Algar. Everybody who tried to mess with that bastard got killed."

"How can you be so sure about that?" Carlos tries to defy her.

"Because I saw it with my own eyes!" She blurted out as she stabbed the knife into the wall, causing it to form a fairly large crack. Her wrathful voice conquered Carlos, silencing him. "That Superior Leader is a madman. They're deadly, they're an executioner who wants to kill everybody in the Asperity Palace even if the people they'll kill have done nothing wrong. They're a merciless bastard who stops at nothing."

"They... they must have a reason why they're doing this." Carlos responded.

"Oh for fuck's sake, they just want to wipe us out!"

"They're just trying to save the kingdom from Lucius!" The prince's voice was starting to grow louder as he argued.

"By killing all of us?"

"No, if they did want to kill us all, why was I saved in the first place?"

"Because you're-" "STOP!" Carlos immediately shuts her down. Once he realized that he became too loud, he lowered his voice. "Don't... Please don't answer that." He said with a softened tone.

Priscilla still wasn't convinced. Her conviction against the Cardinal Manors was unbreakable. "I swear, once I get out of this curse. I'm going to kill you. You traitor."

With no other options left, Carlos could only think of one thing to make his plan work. "Fine." He agreed with Priscilla.

"...what?" Again, she was shocked to hear it from him.

"I'll let you do anything to me..." Carlos continued. "But only after we make a deal."

Priscilla smiled at the notion. "Heh. Now we're talking." She now has him under control. "Alright, say it."

"You must lead the Cardinal Manors to the Red Courtyard. Once it's done, I'll help you get rid of that curse, then you can do anything you want to me."

Priscilla flaunted a sinister grin, making sure that her intentions towards Carlos were known. "Deal."

 The prince reaches out his hand towards Priscilla without hesitating. The fiend, who was blithesome at the moment, shook his hand with utmost delight. As she does so, she looks the prince in the eye unblinking. "If you ever try to break this deal, you'll die a slow and excruciating death. I offer my blood to the deal to make sure it happens."

As their hands entwined, a searing heat surged through their touch, racing up their arms like wildfire. With bated breath, they watched as a blistering scar materialized on the fiend's wrist, a mark of their forbidden connection. As the heat subsided, they reluctantly released each other's hands, knowing the danger that lurked in their forbidden bond. Carlos realized too late again. He entered a dangerous agreement, and this deal will bind him forever. It'll surely cost him his life. His face showed his fear and worry, and Priscilla obviously sensed it. She relished the look on his face and found pleasure in his disquietude. He is chained to her even if the prince incited the bargain.

With the grin of Priscilla's face not wearing off, she urges the prince. "Well, now that that's done. Take me to them."

Carlos nodded. "Follow me."

They walked out of the alleyway together unsuspiciously. Priscilla walked beside the prince confidently while covering the scar on her sleeve. Still, the grin on her face refused to disappear. Carlos looked left and right, trying to find the leaders and Revier. Among the crowd, he spots Revier walking around seemingly trying to find him too. "Revier!" He calls out to him. As soon as the golden disciple heard his name, he hurriedly glanced towards the voice that called him. When he noticed Carlos waving his arm around, he immediately ran to him.

"Have you seen the leaders?" 

"Nope, probably still looking for the fiend." Revier replied.

"Well uhh this... this is Priscilla and she..." Carlos had no idea how to introduce her, thankfully, Priscilla came to the rescue, sort of. 

"I'm the Triumvirate Fiend you're looking for. But you can call me Priscilla for now." she said.

"Woah, that was... you found her really fast." Revier awkwardly turned to Carlos. "So... we're good now? Do I not try to kill her? Or...?"

"Ex-fucking-cuse me? I'm trying to help you lot and you're talking shit about me IN FRONT OF ME?!" Priscilla growled at Revier.

"No! No! Sorry, I didn't mean it like that! I was just used to being ordered around to beat up people like you and... uhh..." Revier turned to Carlos once more. "Haha... help me out here?"

Carlos slowly turned his head away, nervously smiling.

"So are you guys taking me or not?!" Priscilla yelled at the two.

"To... where?" Revier asked.

"To the Cardinal Manors!"

"Ohhh... right, uh, I don't know what the plan is? But uhm... I guess I could call the leader and we can gather at the safehouse. The... Superior Manor has one safehouse in every city."

"Okay, there we have it. What are we waiting for? Move!" Priscilla commanded. To which the two replied with: "Yes, ma'am."