Chapter Seven.

The Central City was ruled by one head, The Queen. Then under the Queen's rule, her power were distributed to a couple of heads. The Barons, the Lords, and some Ministers. Normally, these people were supposed to be under the Queen, but Tobin was successful enough to had diverted more than half of them under his rule. He was like the King, but still with the title of a Lord. Tobin was more powerful than Helen even knew, and Helen was sure he was a big threat to her throne. He had lands almost all over the kingdom with many followers, maybe even more than Helen's. There were twelve Ministers, and at least seven of them had sworn their allegiance to Tobin. It would not be long before he managed to take all the power for himself.

Fiora did not know this much. Maybe if she did, she would know Ropert was the least of her problems. It would save her the unfortunately waste of her time and she would not had bothered going to see him in the first place.

Aiden already found the place where he lived and it was no doubt a mighty abode. They couldn't just march in to receive a one-on-one meeting with Ropert, so Aiden had strategize a plan. He was a noble so he knew things that could bring a mere peasant into his father's home at anytime. With all of the reasons in his head, a messenger sounded better. Only problem was that, just one person was enough to be messenger. With two of them, the guards might be suspicious.

"I need to go in alone. I'll talk to him about whatever it is you want and I- Fiora no!" He screamed and she did not listen. Of course Aiden knew Fiora not to be mentally stable at times, but the level now was just too extreme. Before Aiden could say anything more, Fiora was already few steps inside the building. "Fiora, hey! Psst! Fi- This is wrong... Oh for the love of gods!" Without thinking further, Aiden rushed forward and plundered into his death.

His death was not so bad like he'd thought it would be. For some reason, dying in an impressively built mansion wasn't so terrible to him. When they arrived at the entrance, where two (or maybe more) guards should had been, stood a giant empty door. Fiora walked in majestically like both Ropert and her shared the house. It's inside wasn't so marvelous as Aiden had expected, but it was alright in it's own way. It did not really boast of a wide space, but it was wide enough. There wasn't much at the particular room, strangely including no guards. Straight forward on it's inside made way to another door and voices could now be heard.

"Fiora?" Muffled Aiden from behind. She did not reply but he kept talking anyway. Whispering. "This is not right, he's a powerful man. Trespassing is not the same as a peaceful conversation."

"Well do you have a better idea?" She barked out, but in a hushed tone.

"Well, I would have, if only you'd just-" he didn't finish with his words before the door slowly crept open. There was nowhere to run and hide. Only Fiora was armed, but what good would that do them in the midst of heavily armed mighty armies?

"Who are you? State your business here!" Roared out one of the guards that immediately unsheathed his swords. "Are you deaf?" He barked out, then motioned to the other guards who were already multiplying in number. "Circle them!"

With no option at all, Aiden and Fiora had to obey, but they did not utter any word.

"Are you deaf! State your bus-"

"I'll take it from here, Captain Matt." Assured a voice from a distance. From inside, a man walked forward, shoulders and pace boasting of power. He was slender and had grey hair, fancy redundant jewelries adorned him. Fiora had never met him but she knew at once who he was. He was probably in his early forties from what she'd heard from people, but with healthy food and lots of money, he didn't look his age. For a brief moment, both Fiora and Aiden might had probably shared the same thought. Their nemesis was strikingly handsome in a way. Even his accent breathed literacy. "I want just the girl. Escort the young man out." He commanded, but not in a roguery manner. There was calmness in his voice.

Aiden gave Fiora a brief glance and nodded gently towards her. She didn't need him open his mouth for any words to say. Just a silent moment was enough for both their minds to link and communicate. She knew she would be fine, and he assured her exactly that.

In the blink of an eye, Aiden was out of the room, leaving just Fiora, Ropert and a few guards.

"Come with me." Ropert said.

It didn't make sense to her. In her opinion, he was the bad man. Sweet talking her was a waste of time."No. Let's have our chat here."

"Foolish girl." He chuckled, but the bit of amusement in his soon abruptly disappeared. "I knew you were on your way already."

"Really? Guess that's why we're not dead yet."

"Exactly. Yet." He replied, sending a tinge of fear down Fiora's spine.

****

When Fiora came out, Aiden rushed forward to meet her. Glad to see that she was still in one piece, he screamed they left that place at once. She didn't look too happy so he feared he didn't even need to ask what Ropert's reply was. But his gut still needed answer.

"So?" He asked, his hand holding hers as he motioned they left the vicinity fast.

"It's fine. He won't come for us."

"You don't know that yet. Let's go." He held her hands again but she let go.

"It doesn't matter, Aiden. Can't you see?" She said, eyes gazing at his with dejection.

"Wh- What do you mean?" He asked, already anxious for her reply. His eyes wandered round his environment and he relaxed a bit when he saw no strange face watching.

"I don't know what to do, I- I'm ... I'm so confused."

"Fiora? What did he say?" Aiden asked with authority in his tone.

"He confessed that Lord Tobin was behind all of it, but that was just about it."

"What do you mean?"

"Lord Tobin was behind this, Aiden. Everybody knows just how powerful he is. There's not much we can do." She explained.

"Okay. It's understandable, but-"

"The only way we can do something is if Lord Tobin does something. He's the only one that can stop it."

"Fiora, Tobin is a menace. He's ruthless, greedy, pure evil. I would never advise you to get anywhere him." He said, hoping his words sank in clearly to her ears. Fiora was stubborn, and Aiden knew just how much. "I'm sorry, but," he paused, his voice cracked a little. He feared Fiora would hate him more but he was spilling out the truth. "But-"

Just as if Fiora already knew what he would say, she hushed him up and told him they better be on their way already. "We'll think of something else later on. Let's go." And with that, she took to her leave.

"Wait." He stopped her before they'd covered much distance. She paused and turned back to see Aiden staring with a rather confusing look.

"What?" Her inquisitive eyes studied him with patience. He was probably cracking up a joke. At least she hoped he was. Aiden was always like that sometimes.

"Earlier, you didn't listen." He finally said, and she stared in complete silence with her arched brows asking all the question. "You're always so... Impatient." He continued. "You don't listen to others, you don't give room for your second thoughts, you don't-"

"We can stand here all day and listen to your preachings, Aiden. Or we can just go back home and think of a new plan."

"See? You won't listen-"

"No. I won't. Because this is you trying to stop me from helping this people." She abruptly added, cutting him off of his statement. "I won't listen to you."

"You never do. And it's dangerous to live like that. You need support and friends."

"On some things. On the others, you just need to trust your guts."

"Fiora?!" He called out of the blue, almost startling her. "You could have been dead back there. Don't you understand?" He rushed forward, standing face to face with her now. "Don't you understand?!"

Fiora tried to think of another defensive remark to say but nothing came out of her mouth.

"You're doing all of this for the people. Not because you're stupid, or because they're helpless and don't have a queen to come to their aid."

"That witch is not going to-"

"Eventually, she will. She's going to do something about it and eventually, the people will be happy again. But you just want to help while you can. The people are counting on you deep down in their hearts. Don't you get it? They feel that they're not alone and just that thought, it's feeding their empty stomachs. Their hearts are blessed with hope. They're counting on you because it's okay to depend on others."

"You don't-"

"Listen to me first. You need to at least trust me to help you. We want the same goal. You and I, we're walking the same path already. If only you'd let your guard down a little, and trust me to help you."

"And if I don't?" She asked and started to reply almost immediately. "You'll stop talking to me, you'll leave me be and hope I don't get killed along the way, huh?" She waited and feared Aiden would confirm all she'd just said. He would speak now and admit to all her claims, then, if the heavens helped her, she might try to apologize.

His lips parted slowly like he was about to say something, but they closed back again. He wanted to yell at her, to explain that he was on her side. He also wanted to embrace her for having to had dealt with a hard past. To squeeze her in a warm embrace for having to had been at all time independent with no one to look out for her. He knew she had her reasons for not trusting him. They'd only just met few days ago. He knew all of that. Then why did he feel somewhat betrayed? The feeling of disappointment had never look nice on him.

With no exact reply on mind to give, he reluctantly threw his gaze off her and let his eyes wander all around with no apparent direction in mind, then let out a deep sighed and walked away. Not any single word uttered, nothing at all. He heard her called his name a few times but he couldn't reply. He didn't mean to be cold, he just needed some time away. Eventually, he might run back to her to apologize, but in that moment, he wouldn't care.

****

Disappointed and frustrated, Fiora strolled back home with a big frown on her face. Who did he think he was? Friends never left one another in their dying need. Ropert's house wasn't too far more than half an hour's journey to her home so before she knew it, she'd arrived at the entrance of her door. When she got in, she met Gregoria on the floor, stains of fresh blood on the floor near her. The girls were next to her with wet cloths, dabbing off sweat and more blood from her face. Sif wasn't around, and Clement was out of sight.

"Oh god! What happened to her?" Fiora rush forward and sat next to Gregoria. Her eyes were ghostly white and her skin were pale from all of the blood she'd lost. She looked so tired and weary.

"Don't let her say anything, it'll only cause more blood to spew." Asmi cautioned.

"Where's Sif?"

"He went to-" Asmi replied, then stopped to point towards the door. "Oh look at him."

Fiora turned and saw him staring in fright. "Sif,"

"Fiora, it's alright. She'll be fine." He said calmly to her, advancing to meet his mother.

"What is going on? None of you are saying anything!"

"Fiora, go to your room." Clement walked out from the kitchen with a stern look on his face.

"Clement, you have to tell me what is going on?" Fiora got up and walked up to Clement.

"Sif, take her in." He said and Sif immediately lifted his mother gently, and helped her walk. "You two, wait outside." Said Clement to Revna and Asmi, who quickly rushed outside. "You," he faced Fiora, who returned a deadly glare in reply. "Your room, now. Don't make me repeat it."

She contemplated for long, but she knew just how stubborn Clement was. It would be best to obey him first, then question him later. She reluctantly went to her room, them almost immediately, heard a key lock on the door.

"Clement, what are you doing?" She tried to open the door but realized he'd actually locked her in. "Clement? Clement??"

"Stay in there for the night. You leave first thing at dawn tomorrow."

"What? Leave? To where?? Clement!" She was not thinking straight. Where would he be planning to send her this time? And what would his reasons had been? "Clement??" She yelled out, banging the door repeatedly. "Clement?"

Nothing. Clement had already made up his mind, and nothing could stop him. She was not ready for the throne. It's politics would wreck her. She wasn't ready.

"Clement?? Clement!"