Hideaway

"Wait!" the princess bellowed and quickly explained, "We came here to help in saving the House of Scale!"

"This House doesn't need saving," the old man contested. "One year of imprisonment for the offenders except for Prince Sunrei. He had a more important trial to face," he raised his hand and commanded. "Move!"

The guards promptly obeyed the old man and began to drag Aries, Princess Pieffer, and Siorre out of the quadrangle when deafening explosions were heard at the perimeter of the area.

The ground shook. Clouds of dust and smoke covered the entire quadrangle, making it hard for Aries to clearly see his surroundings. All he could glimpse were shadows restlessly moving around. And after a few seconds, more silhouettes were approaching their direction. Another minute had passed and he saw shadows dropping on the ground then the hands gripping his roped arms were gone.

He thought about escaping but another hand had tightly grabbed his tied arm and dragged him away from the platform.

"Come with us!"

It was a male voice and the urgency in his words made Aries obey in silence.

They ran through clouds of dust and smoke. Aries could glimpse shadows trailing them and he was hoping that those were silhouettes of his comrades.

Aries lost count of the time they were running. It felt like an eternity of sprinting. He also failed to memorize the route they were taking because they took a lot of turns and detours.

When the man dragging his hand had suddenly stopped running, he nearly bumped on the back of that man. It was a good thing that he skidded to a stop just in the nick of time.

"Wait here! No one will move!"

The man in front of Aries had firmly commanded and he was grateful to hear those words because that could only mean he was not the only one they had taken.

The silhouettes around Aries had stopped moving and a few minutes of stillness floated in the air.

The clouds of dust and smoke had gradually faded and Aries could finally see the people around him.

As he was hoping, Princess Pieffer, Prince Sunrei, and Siorre escaped the quadrangle with him. Five strangers surrounded the four of them. One of them was a woman, probably the same age as Princess Pieffer. She and her comrades were carrying a cloth bag and they put some colored sticks in it. Aries thought it looked like smoke bombs or fireworks. Those must be the cause of the explosions and the clouds of dust and smoke. He was certain that the smell lingering in the air was gunpowder.

He looked away from the bag and glanced back at the woman.

Her sky-blue hair was neatly tied into a bun. Her eyes had a darker shade of blue than her hair and there was coldness emanating from her gaze. She and her comrades were wearing black hooded overcoats and black boots. Hanging in their belt were sheathed daggers.

Aries looked away from the woman and gazed at his surroundings. They had been brought to a place that was similar to a dungeon. But it was different from the dungeon of the Beast Tamer.

There were windowless brick walls. Lamps were attached from the pillars in between walls. Simple chandeliers were hanging from the high ceiling that was also made of intricately carved granite.

Aries also noticed a few closed iron doors alternately placed in between the pillars.

"Follow me," the woman had said then marched quietly through the hallway.

"Are you…"

"Yes," the woman instantly interrupted the question of Princess Pieffer. "I am Lira Gavel. I am the leader of this rebellion. We can talk in my room."

^########^

Lira Gavel had a simple and cozy room. It was only enough to accommodate six people. A long table was placed near the fireplace. Over it was piles of leatherbound books, scrolls, envelopes, and parchments. Three chairs were placed around that table. There was a couch in front of the crackling fire and a rounded center table. At the left corner of the room, opposite the long table was a four-poster bed with neatly arranged pastel pink bedsheet, blanket, and pillows. A lamp was placed on the bedside table. A two-door cabinet was placed not far from the footboard of the bed.

"Brailles, Ross, Dan, you can leave Alfred here. We will explain everything to our guests. Go and check on our people and our perimeter," Lira commanded. She was not yet a house leader but she already had the aura of one.

"Yes, Lady Lira!" the three men chorused before taking their leave.

"Take a seat," the future house leader had offered and the cold expression in her face had somehow softened. She sat on one of the chairs around the long table.

Princess Pieffer and Siorre joined Lira at the long table. Aries and Prince Sunrei settled on the couch, a few feet apart from each other. Alfred remained standing right next to the chair Lira had taken.

"I am Lira Gavel," she introduced herself once again. "This is Alfred, one of my most reliable comrades. You've met Brailles, Ross, and Dan. I have eleven more men guarding this hideout. This is where I conceal all the villagers I saved from my family. But I'm afraid that I cannot continue hiding them. Seven years ago, I have more than a hundred men but now they were reduced to fifteen. We cannot hold on for much longer. And I think that your arrival is a blessing to us. Aries, please help us."

Her hopeful gaze made Aries a little uneasy. He cleared his throat and asked, "I heard that this House has a lot of rules. If I cannot disobey them then how can I help?"

"This is all because of my father," Lira sighed with exhaustion. "At first, he became obsessed with righteousness and went overboard. And then… when the corrupted souls entered this House… he chose to save his family over his people," she sighed one more time and it appeared that she became oblivious of her guests. She was staring at the long table with frustration and went on complaining. "I understand him and I can see his point… but… a house leader should always protect his people… not just his family. He should have done… something better… for all of us in this House. How could he alter the law for the benefit of his family and those corrupted souls?"

"Lady Lira," Alfred cleared his throat. "I think our guests don't fully understand what you are saying."

"I'm sorry," Lira breathed. "You don't have to understand everything. My father was a good person. Obsession changed him. He cannot see the truth anymore. The barriers had weakened and corrupted souls are taking the bodies of the villagers through the battle to the death."

"What?" Prince Sunrei asked a little louder than his normal voice.

Lira gazed pryingly at the prince, "Do you think you can win against that man who challenged you?"

Prince Sunrei looked away and could not answer.

"I was watching at the quadrangle," Lira revealed. "It was only momentary but I saw the truth in the eyes of that man. He owns that body. You cannot win against him."

Silence had floated and Aries could sense the tension building up.

"Once you become the house leader, can you make his case a special one?" Aries inquired.

Lira gazed at him as if he said something forbidden.

"We should always be fair."

"You already said that Prince Sunrei cannot win against that man," Aries stared back at the future house leader with the same intensity of annoyance. "Can you see the future? How can you judge the prince without knowing his strength first?"

"I cannot see the future but I can see the truth in his eyes," Lira had seriously responded. "He believes that he cannot win against that man."

Aries glared at the prince and said, "I thought you want to keep that body? Why are you hesitating?"

"He is a Celestial Knight!" desperation had shown in the eyes and voice of the prince. "How can I win against him?"

"But if you win, you can own that body for good. Only death can separate you from that vessel," Lira sighed. "The battle to the death had killed a lot of our people," she leaned on the backrest and gazed at the chandelier hanging on the ceiling. "I don't know what is worst. Getting possessed or getting killed by the corrupted souls in that arena then got robbed of your body," she closed her eyes and sighed, "My father kept on allowing it because he sees it as a 'fair' fight between souls. And even if I become the new house leader, what had been decided will never be changed. All those people that had been killed and robbed of their bodies will remain dead and the corrupted souls will still live in those vessels. Killing them is punishable by death," she slammed her hand on the long table and firmly stated, "Justice shall prevail! The corrupted souls should be sent to eternal rest. This house should be brought back to how it was. And I need your help to make that a reality."

"How can we help?" Siorre asked.

"We need the Book of Balance," Lira replied. "If I get my hand to it, I will become the new house leader. Only our bloodline can touch that book. You need to help me find a way inside our manor undetected. If anyone sees us, we will instantly get imprisoned. You saw how tight the security is all over the village. All those guards have sharp eyes. They are getting better at detecting intruders and the house becomes harder to penetrate."

"But you penetrated the quadrangle and got us out of there."

"Yes, Aries," Lira nodded in agreement. "We have a lot of practice in running away. It is somewhat easy for us to get people out of the quadrangle. But we can only stay in there undercover for a few minutes. We have to leave immediately or the guards will sense our presence."

"Can we seek justice for the people who had been robbed of their body once you become the new house leader?" Princess Pieffer was hopeful.

"As I said, what was already decided can never be amended," Lira seriously replied. "Though I am powerless in changing my father's verdicts, I can protect the villagers from future injustices once I become the new house leader."

"Then let's get that book," Aries finally agreed.

"One more thing," Lira quickly added and her eyes appeared ominous.

"What?" Aries asked.

"Once the house leader changes, House of Scale will become lawless for twenty-four hours," Lira gravely informed them. "We need to protect the villagers. And…" her voice faltered and hesitation was evident in her eyes.

"And what?" Siorre curiously urged.

The future house leader closed her eyes as she said, "You can do whatever you want to those corrupted souls that killed and robbed our people of their bodies. Send them to where they belong."

"Sure," Aries instantly agreed. "But before we take that Book of Balance, Prince Sunrei should win the battle to death."